Melancholy of the Mystes
by CapoExecutor
Summary: AU. The three of us all died and became Mystes to some really sought after items of the Guze. Different Life, Different Rules, Different Times. Our lives must be really heading down to hell in a hand-basket.
1. Prologue

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

I've now lost my mind to many things. Characters might be a little different in personalities and such.

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"So you're the three little whelps that have been depriving power of existence to my precious Marianne." Friagne snarled as Yutaro Sakai, Yuji Sakai, and Yukari Hirai kept their weapons trained at the Guze King. "The Mystes of the Mahiru Maigo, Reiji Maigo, and the Seiren Maigo, you three shall fall before me!"

"Not quite. Marianne is a joke in battle and I doubt you'd be a challenge, no matter how many Flame Hazes you killed." Yukari spoke as she kept the Strata Arch, a bladed bow, trained on her target while internally debating as whether she should put an arrow into Friagne's forehead or into the barrel of Trigger Happy. "Honestly, crashing the last days of my summer job is a big no-no!"

With that said, Yukari released the drawn arrow at Friagne, who fired an intercepting shot at the incoming projectile. In the critical seconds, Yuji dashed forward with the Rotational Edge, a broadsword with a chainsaw blade, before slashing downwards at Friagne, who quickly sidestepped at the last second before flying fast into the air. But Yutaro swung one of the chained sickles of the Rensen, catching Friagne before planting the other chained sickle into the ground.

"You're not going anywhere." Yutaro spoke before a warning jolt erupted in his instincts that the Mystes evaded Marianne, who nearly skewered the youth from behind with a javelin arm. The distraction allowed Friagne to break free and he was about to join up with his beloved Rinne when an arrow impaled Marianne from behind. Time seemed to slow for Friagne as he watched flames burst out of Marianne's form until the Rinne disintegrated into embers.

"NOOOO!!!!!!" Friagne roared as he pulled Trigger Happy before turning and firing at Yukari, who quickly sprinted for cover behind a building.

"Now it's just you being the leftover." Yuji called out, getting Friagne's attention. The Hunter turned and fired Trigger Happy with a maniacal look on his face. But the Mystes zigzagged through the incoming shots before vanishing in an after-image that went past Friagne before reappearing a few feet away with the Rotational Edge drawn. Having been the victim to a Shukuchi maneuver, Friagne felt life leave his body, which separated into two cleaved halves before exploding into embers, leaving Trigger Happy and a number of Hougu behind.

"So I guess that's that." Yutaro spoke as he incinerated the City Devourer Hougu while Yukari salvaged Trigger Happy as her additional weapon. "By the way Yukari, good shot."

"What can I say? Revenge is sweet." Yukari replied with a smile. "Are we training too hard or have we been facing weaklings since the beginning?"

"The latter I say." Yuji replied as he placed the Rotational Edge away. "Anyways, we should fix this place and head back."

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"So how was work today and your routine pest control?" Chigusa asked as she made dinner for her twin sons and adoptive daughter. Ever since Yukari's parents were devoured and she herself turned into a Mystes, Chigusa took her into the Sakai household.

"Friagne's dead." Yuji spoke. "I'm thinking of spending the last days of summer salvaging whatever belongings he had."

"If we find anything that can protect you without using power of existence, you're more than welcome to have it." Yukari added.

"That's okay but I'll take you up on that." Chigusa replied.

"Yuji, are you ready for me to scan the Reiji Maigo?" Yutaro asked.

"Sure." Yuji replied before standing up as Yutaro cast a large number of Unrestricted Methods.

"Ah, you have a strange spell of sorts that doesn't belong in there." Yutaro remarked before Yukari cast her magic to extract a silver template out. "I'll analyze it and see what it is after dinner."

"I wonder if Johan ever realized the presence of that spell before he was killed." Yuji replied.

"It's possible that the Reiji Maigo might have been tagged with it a few seconds after his demise." Yukari spoke. "Any interesting memories besides his lovey-dovey life with Pheles?"

"Nope." Yuji replied. "No matter how much time passes, I'll still look at the Engage Link as nothing more than a hormonal couple."

"Alright, dinner is ready!" Chigusa announced from the kitchen.

As the three Mystes went to help Chigusa, they all shared a collective thought:

The summer was close to an end as they fully realized on who they really are and the reality of the world that they lived in. One door closing is another door opening to welcome the autumn season along with other challenges that have yet to arrive in Misaki City.

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Reiji Maigo = Midnight Stray Child

Mahiru Maigo = Midday Stray Child

Seiren Maigo = Holy Stray Child

Shana is taking a backseat as it is.


	2. Kickstarting Things

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

Yes, TimelessEcholocation. You very much hit the mark, although it'll be a slow progression regarding that element, though some moments might be surprising. Johan is dead and that will be revealed in the next chapter.

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Yutaro Sakai was a bold youth in his own right and looked exactly like Yuji with the exception of having a more calculating expression and a number of facial scars that came after an accident while on a camping trip a few years ago. While he was the eldest child of the family, the youth didn't assert his authority on his twin Yuji or his surrogate sister Yukari Hirai, whom Chigusa had adopted into the family. The three grew up together for so long and Yutaro didn't know whether it was a coincidence that they would end up having certain Hougus forced into their beings. The late Friagne and his pet Marianne had been responsible for consuming their power of existence at different times and Yukari lost her family to them.

The first day of school was as boring as it can be at Misaki Municipal High School. After the day ended, he, Yuji, and Yukari were the first to vacate the premises. While Yuji went to the CD shop and Yukari went home, Yutaro had gone to deposit his last paycheck from his summer job as a karaoke bartender. Once that bit of business was done, he decided to take a stroll in the alleyway when his senses kicked into the detection of a nearby Tomogara. Looking up ahead, he noticed a young street gangster with a small flickering flame inside his being. He had just walked past an old man in a suit and hat before vanishing in a burst of fire. The flames, instead of dissipating, immediately traveled into the hand of the old man and Yutaro immediately took a fighting stance.

"Ah, so you noticed?" the old man asked upon noticing Yutaro, whose eyes widened amid seeing another being within him. It was only there for a few seconds but before vanishing, Yutaro caught a glimpse of a young girl who looked about Yukari's age with purple hair and a summer dress residing within the old man. Relaxing himself to normal, the youth had to thank himself that the Mahiru Maigo was very informative with all the knowledge and memories it possessed, a realization that seemed to grant validity that a Hougu has a form of sentiency of its own.

"Yes, I did. I guess Yukari might have missed a few. Still, I wonder as to whether you and the Spiral Organ Leanan-sidhe are just passing through Misaki." Yutaro replied.

Now it was the old man's turn to be surprised. "You saw?"

Yutaro nodded. "Easy there. The Mahiru Maigo that resides within me has its form of sentiency and seems to provide answers to any questions I have in my mind regarding the Guze."

"Ah, the culmination of the Engage Link's failures prior to the creation of the Reiji Maigo." The old man spoke, hiding a bit of surprise in his tone.

"That's correct." Yutaro replied. "How about the three of us have a nice civil conversation over some coffee?"

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Under the red glow of the Fuzetsu, Chigusa watched with amazement as Yukari fired several shots in succession from what looked like a bladed pistol that she called the Severance, striking all of the fireballs that she had set up to fly around the backyard. The Mystes of the Seiren Maigo was the sniper of the group, whose pinpoint precision made her unmatched in the use of firearms and long-range weapons of the three. It was that specialty that Yukari brought to the group that Chigusa dubbed as the Mystes Triumvirate of Misaki.

Chigusa knew that combat training after finishing the important things in a normal such as homework was routine for Yutaro, Yuji, and Yukari ever since they became Mystes and learned about the Guze. The young mother had obviously taken the realization badly at first when she learned about the Guze and the realization on what her sons had become. Before the disclosure, Yukari and Yuji had a big argument in regards to disclosing it to their mother. Yukari thought that Chigusa deserved to learn the truth in order to keep her on her guard. To the young female Mystes, she didn't want to lose someone who she saw as a motherly figure. Yuji, however, thought that keeping Chigusa in the dark was better so that she wouldn't have to worry about them disappearing. It was fortunate that Yutaro stepped in and resolved the situation. In a surprising display of his superior skills that led to Yutaro's rise in reputation as the best in Misaki High School's Debate Team, he swiftly stifled Yuji's points while strengthening Yukari's position within five minutes.

'To see my little ones risk so much to protect the things they value in their hearts.' Chigusa thought to herself. Yukari Hirai may not have been her biological daughter but true family isn't determined by blood. Rather, it was the heart that made all the difference. While it wasn't easy to accept their role in the war of existence, Chigusa knew that they couldn't avoid it forever.

"Chigusa?"

Chigusa looked up to see Yukari looking at her and holding out the Severance. She had no problem with Yukari calling her by her first name.

"I know that the Aegis will protect you and bring you safely home should you encounter a Tomogara in the city but it is sometimes better to have another option just in case." Yukari spoke as she handed the weapon to Chigusa.

"Are you giving this to me? You know that I can't use power of existence." Chigusa spoke.

"The Severance doesn't need power of existence to be used." Yukari explained. "It gathers the energy from the environment as a power source to create its own ammunition. Since I've seen you use knives in the kitchen, I'm sure you'll get a good handle with it."

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"The Mahiru Maigo isn't like any other Hougu as it was born from the culmination of failed attempts by the Engage Link before the creation of the Reiji Maigo." Yutaro was saying as the old man named Lamies and Leanan-sidhe, who had emerged in her true form, listened. "The failed Hougus that resulted were abandoned all across the world until a phoenix named Bennu, the Soul of the Solstice, gathered all of them into Egypt where it made its funeral pyre out of them. The death and reincarnation events had given birth to the Mahiru Maigo from the ashes of the pyre. Though it retains its title, Bennu now goes by the name Garuda until the next burning in nine hundred and sixty years."

"Interesting history yet I wonder on how such a Hougu remained evasive for the last forty years." Leanan-sidhe spoke as she sipped her tea.

"My dad found it in the Egyptian sands while doing business in Cairo. I guess no one ever found it ever since it was created." Yutaro replied. "My dad thought I would like to have it as a souvenir so I kept for myself. I didn't know about the Guze until it began to resonate and merge into me one day. Strangely, enough, the Mahiru Maigo seemed to possess a vast collective of memories that educated me greatly about the Guze itself as well as a good number of existent beings, Flame Haze and Tomogara, in tandem to regenerating my power of existence at noon. I guess Marianne or Friagne might have taken my power of existence at that time for me to be its first Mystes."

"I take it that your younger twin Yuji and your adopted sister Yukari later became Mystes to their respective Hougus?" Lamies asked.

Yutaro nodded. "With three powerful and treasured items in one area, the three of us knew that we would be hunted like dogs so that's why we trained hard and diligently to fight back."

"So the Mahiru Maigo, the Reiji Maigo, and the Seiren Maigo are all in one place." Leanan-sidhe remarked. "How did the Seiren Maigo come into existence?"

"Yukari inherited it from a shrine maiden named Asuka when she, Yuji, and I were visiting Kyoto." Yutaro replied. "From what Asuka said, it was created by the Shinto priestess before her eight hundred years ago and she later forced it onto her predecessor. Asuka herself then forced the Hougu into Yukari, who was already a Torch at the time. I guess Asuka grew tired of the four hundred years of accumulating meaningless experience that she sought death to end it for her."

"From the way you say, it sounded as if there wasn't really anything special about the Seiren Maigo." Leanan-sidhe spoke.

"Well, the history is boring." Yutaro spoke. "It's obvious that the Seiren Maigo can immediately replenish any loss in power of existence that Yukari sustains regardless of the amount but the Hougu has this rather interesting ability. Did you notice that there weren't many Torches in Misaki?"

"I find that very odd considering that Friagne and Marianne were constantly on eating binges here." Lamies remarked.

"Well, how about you two join my family and I for dinner? That way, you can see something special with your own eyes." Yutaro replied before his senses alerted him to an incoming presence at the outskirts of Misaki. "Hmm… Looks like one of the wards that Yuji set just picked up two Flame Hazes in different parts of the city. One is leaving and the other one is arriving. Let's leave before we get unwelcome company."

After paying for the drinks at the coffee shop, Yutaro guided Lamies and Leanan-sidhe into a nearby alley. Looking around, Yutaro grinned in seeing multiple shadowed spots in the area, dark enough to completely obscure visibility.

"We'll Shadow-Walk to get to my home." Yutaro spoke before activating an Unrestricted Method that he, Lamies, and Leanan-sidhe vanished into the shadows of the alley before reappearing and emerging from the shadowed space in the hallway of his house. "As long as shadowed spots exist, I can move across great distances to reach those areas unless the place is heavily warded with Unrestricted Methods such my home."

"Interesting mode of transportation." Lamies remarked.

"I'm surprised that you managed to pick up so much from the Guze in the span of a few months, let alone create new methods." Leanan-sidhe added.

"Live, learn, and take part in making new things." Yutaro replied before leading them to the kitchen where Chigusa was busy cooking.

"Hi, mom. I brought some guests over from the city." Yutaro spoke before introducing the pair behind him. "Lamies the Corpse Retriever and Leanan-sidhe the Spiral Organ. This is my mother Chigusa Sakai."

"Ara, nice to meet you two." Chigusa replied kindly as she greeted the pair.

"Likewise, madam." Lamies replied as he tipped his hat.

"Greetings, madam. Your eldest son is quite a gentleman." Leanan-sidhe added.

"Well, that's Yutaro for you." Chigusa replied happily.

"Mom, where are Yuji and Yukari?" Yutaro asked

"Yuji is left to monitor the movements of the Flame Hazes. Yukari is upstairs taking a bath." Chigusa replied before gesturing to the table. "Please make yourself at home. It's not everyday that we would have guests."

"You don't seem rather bothered about a Tomogara in your presence." Leanan-sidhe replied.

"Things aren't always taken at face-value." Chigusa replied. "I hope we all can be good friends in the end."

"As do I, madam." Lamies spoke while Leanan-sidhe nodded in approval.

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Having watched the Blazing Haired Red Eyed Hunter passed through Misaki City and heading abroad, Yuji grinned from the shadows. After having spied on her from the shadows, Yuji admitted that the young girl was rather cute but had temper issues and lacked a proper name. According to Yutaro, she was only referred to by her sword, the Nietono no Shana. Her contractor Alastor, the Flame of the Heavens, was well known and one of the Guze gods. As she and her contractor vanished into the endless plains outside of Misaki City, Yuji turned his attention towards the incoming Flame Haze that had just entered the city at the opposite end.

Vanishing into the darkness, Yuji shadow-walked towards the newcomer to find a blond-haired busty woman in blue whom he recognized as Margery Daw, the Interpreter of Condolences and the deadliest Flame Haze assassin. The Flame Haze in question looked as though she was communicating through a flame at the tip of her finger.

'If Yukari was here, she probably could eavesdrop on her.' Yuji thought to himself before taking his cell phone out and quickly sent several text messages to the cell phones of Yutaro and Yukari.

"It's a complicated setup, Margery-san." A masculine voice spoke through the flame.

"Remind me to tutor you on patterns and designs." Margery replied before extinguishing the flame at her fingertip. "Still, they did good on their first try. That Corpse Retriever bastard probably set these up. Well, time to give him a wake-up call!"

'Oh, hell! She's destroying the wards that Yukari and I set up!' Yuji thought to himself before standing tall on the roof. "Hey! Stop! Those things took me a long time to set up and calibrate correctly!"

The outburst drew Margery's attention towards the youth clad in black with a sleeveless trench-coat over his attire.

"Oh I'm sorry, are these really yours?" Margery asked mockingly as she flew up towards the youth, who quickly jumped back. "You'd make quite a comedian kid."

"The name is Yuji and I'm not that ignorant. The wards set up in the city are to detect any Tomogara and Flame Hazes moving in and out of here." The youth replied. "Surely, an Unrestricted Method specialist such as yourself would've recognized it. But that's not the point, Margery."

"Then about you be a good little boy and tell me. Where is Lamies the Corpse Retriever?" Margery asked.

"A safe place far away from here." Yuji replied. "He isn't a threat to humans."

"So naïve! Every Tomogara is a threat just based on the fact that they exist!" Marcosius replied. "My goblet and I will rip and smash every last one until there is nothing left!"

"Besides, it isn't our style to attack humans or Torches, though I'm surprised that you know our world." Margery added. "So tell us where Lamies and I'll make it worth your while."

The last sentence was added with Margery giving a slight bounce with her ample bosom but Yuji merely shook his head in disgust.

"Interesting but I'm not telling you anything that will lead you to him." Yuji replied coldly. "Even if you give me your whole self, I have no intentions on leading you to him. Do me a favor and get the hell out before you wind up in pieces."

"Ohohohoho! Those are fighting words, kid!" Marcosius barked with laughter. "But we ain't leaving until we take out Lamies!"

"Honestly, a Torch like you threatening a fully capable Flame Haze? You're five hundred years too young to even utter a challenge." Margery replied before cast a Fuzetsu. To her surprise, she saw Yuji shaking his head in disappointment. "What?! You can move? Then you're…"

"A Mystes." Yuji finished the sentence.

"Ha! This is a bit special but Mystes aren't worth the time either." Marcosius replied.

"It's a real pity that a potential fight like this would ruin the city." Yuji replied before quickly flying off into the night sky.

"You little brat! Get back here!" Margery shouted before taking flight after Yuji, who quickly accelerated until he reached the grassy fields outside of Misaki.

Landing, Yuji turned to see Margery land as well a good distance away from him.

"You're rather predictable." Yuji remarked.

"You're starting to annoy me." Margery growled. "But then again, roughing you up a bit might do some good."

"Not going to happen, especially if you'll end up at the receiving end of a beatdown." Yuji replied.

"Kid, even if you're a Mystes, you're five hundred years too young to even leave a scratch on me." Margery replied.

"That overconfidence will one day cost you." Yuji replied. "The way of combat among humans have evolved over time and I have vast skills in my repertoire that can destroy any enemy, be it Guze no Ou or Flame Haze."

"All bark but no bite." Marcosius replied rather dully.

"If there is one guarantee, I can make you very angry that you'll be a very savage beast." Yuji continued.

"Really?" Margery asked in a mocking tone. "Amuse me then."

Yuji smiled with a wicked glint in his eye. Since they both were outside the city and away from human civilization, he can fight at his best without worry or restraint. Though the Psalm of the Grand Order had yet to evolve for him to wield a silver flame, Yuji did learn how to change the colors of flames. It would seem like a meaningless spell but Flame Hazes and Tomogara mostly took whatever they see at face value. Such a prank would be their worst enemy.

'Wild rage makes one destructive but also very predictable when human rationality is overridden by the savage instinct.' Yuji thought to himself before yelling. "Fuzetsu!"

The red glow of the Fuzetsu erupted along with silver fire. The moment Margery saw the silver flames, she suddenly began to convulse and her heartbeat began to accelerate. Her eyes turned more maniacal the longer she stared at the silver flames within the Fuzetsu.

"Silver… silver…SILVER!!!!" Margery roared before she immediately lost control of herself before turning into her Toga combat form, which looked like a cross between a bear and a werewolf.

Marcosius had always enjoyed the battles that Margery waged but somehow he felt that something was rather wrong with his Flame Haze.

"Boy! What did you do?!" Marcosius yelled, though it was barely audible as Margery began to yell. "Must kill! Must Kill! MUST KILL!!!"

Yuji, however, had a cold expression on his face, knowing that he either pulled a rather sensitive trigger within Margery Daw or he really drove her insane with that false display of silver flames.

"Oh well." The Mystes of the Reiji Maigo muttered to himself for summoning the Rotational Edge. "It's been awhile. Perhaps I'll be able to see how I do against the best of the best."

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Read and review.


	3. An Uncouth Demeanor

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

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To say that Lamies and Leanan-sidhe were stunned in seeing Yukari reverse a nearby Torch back into a full human being would be a very big understatement. The Seiren Maigo had obviously played a huge role in the process but Yukari had created and utilized a protocol of Unrestricted Methods called the Six Steps of Genesis, something that Leanan-sidhe had never seen before.

The first step called the "Regression" would change the Torch in question into the metaphysical form of the person in a state before his or her power of existence had been taken away. This created the foundation.

The second step called the "Fastening" would anchor the form into the earthly realm of existence. As humans were born from the earth itself, a connection was established to the planet's power of existence to prevent interruption of the overall process further on.

The third step called the "Cultivation" would involve giving power of existence to that regressed form in a large amount. The Seiren Maigo, the Mahiru Maigo, and the Reiji Maigo tend to be the usual donors.

The fourth step called the "Stationing" would bring the soul of the devoured person into the restored form where his or her essence takes root and integrates completely. No longer was that person a Torch until he or she was devoured again in the future.

The fifth step called the "Restoration" would reestablish and reconnect the person back into the world. As the previous step is completed, the essence of the person links back into the memories of the people and environment.

The sixth step called the "Harvesting" would be where the connection between the Earth and the restored person is severed, allowing the subject to become independent once more.

"When humans are devoured, only their power of existence is taken. While Torches are made as replacements, they still are linked to the metaphysical souls of those devoured." Yukari was explaining. "Yutaro and I had a lot of trial and error experiments in creating the Six Steps of Genesis."

"I see." Leanan-sidhe remarked. "I've never been so surprised in seeing such skill and knowledge, even among the Guze no Ou. But seeing on how a Mystes could create such a process, words cannot truly reflect my thoughts. I wonder if perhaps you both can help me with a personal matter."

"We'll try and see what we can do." Yutaro replied and Yukari nodded in agreement.

Due to the conversation that followed, neither Yutaro nor Yukari noticed their cell phones going off. But then again, the two Mystes had left them on all silence mode with the screens facedown on a cloth in the living room that even Chigusa failed to notice anything.

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Yuji kept an emotionless face as he weaved and dodged Margery's incoming strikes while throwing flaming javelins at the berserk Flame Haze in return, striking home with some effect. Concentrating power of existence to ignite around the Rotational Edge that the chainsaw-like blade spun faster, Yuji swiped low and parallel to the ground, sending a wall of hot flames that absorbed the incoming fireballs from Margery's battle form.

"Is that all you've got?! You're a disgrace if you can't even touch me!" Yuji taunted, which made Margery even more enraged.

"I'LL FUCKIN' KILL YOU!" Margery roared.

"Margery!" Marcosius yelled, trying to get to his Flame Haze to no avail.

The Interpreter of Condolences charged at Yuji, who slammed the Rotational Edge into the ground. Behind him, flames burned brightly such that the shadows of the Hougu shot forth towards the incoming Flame Haze. The Mystes narrowed his eyes as he concentrated on the shadows that Margery was flying over and multiple spinning drills erupted from the ground, ripping through the Flame Haze such that she sustained too damage to continue the charge. Yet, Margery wasn't one to give up, especially with the state of mind that she currently had at the moment.

"Come and get me, you cheap gutter wench! Heck, did getting knocked up in a broom closet numerous times make you that uncoordinated?!" Yuji taunted as he reviewed what he knew about Margery while deciding to act as though he was the Silver. "Minus the dumb medieval knight armor, did you remember the night I came to that brothel?"

Margery lunged at Yuji, who easily evaded before landing several air-breaking kicks to the Flame Haze's back.

"All of those men you sought to kill yourself had become mere additions to my kill quota." Yuji continued. "Having been a mere prostitute and later becoming a Flame Haze. A nice story but an empty one! You seek the wielder of the silver flames just because he 'stole' your revenge? That's too ludicrous to swallow!"

"YOU'LL DIE AT YOUR HAND! I'LL RIP YOU APART, GRIND YOU INTO DUST, DISSOLVE YOU INTO THE MUD, FEED YOU TO THE PIGS, AND TURN YOU INTO REFUSE!" Margery screamed with uncontrolled rage as she suddenly multiplied her presence to surround Yuji with all of her copies.

"A bit rude to bother any swine with all that planning. It's a pity that you've failed to see that your desire to rip and kill reflects the exact nature of those that had tormented you in the life before!" Yuji continued as he jumped and evaded the incoming cobalt flames before casting one of his Unrestricted Methods, Whisper in the Wind. Multiple smoke-like forms of the Mystes erupted to attack all of Margery's copies with straight on collisions that resulted in complete negation of the two enemies' multiplication assault. "You've become exactly like them! That desire you wield to justify your actions is just a fucked up excuse for you to have that feeling of satisfaction when it comes to killing Tomogara just because they exist! You're no better than the people who wronged you back then!"

"WHAT?!" Margery roared. "YOU TOOK MY RIGHT TO KILL THEM FROM ME! DON'T YOU DARE COMPARE ME TO THEM!"

"Do you know why I killed them?" Yuji spoke. "Because I, the Silver, am simply the reflection of your rage and will, all which had fueled me to act upon the blazing desires you held. Once you've had your revenge, there will be no one else left for you to hate. It's ironic that the only reason you've gotten this far was because I was your presumed enemy when I was truthfully the instrument that manifested its existence from the darkness of your heart."

At that, Margery froze at the realization, which pierced her heart with intensity far greater than anything else she had ever felt. As though the strings of a puppet were cut, Margery collapsed on the ground with a sorrowful cry in complete emotional shock. Her eyes were wide and, regardless of her attempts to speak, Margery's voice was trapped in her throat. Yet, the faint sounds of whimpering left her as she slightly trembled.

From where he stood, Yuji took a deep breath while hearing Marcosius call out to his Flame Haze without success. He himself had been astonished at the language and manner of talk he had used to enrage the already deranged battle maniac of a Flame Haze. The Mystes couldn't imagine the vast pent-up anger that the Interpreter of Condolences had but he had a feeling that he had exhausted her mental state greatly with his words, which rendered physically unable to battle.

Suddenly, Margery cried out, followed by a blaze of fire that engulfed her form.

'Oh shit! That's the Flame of Illusion!' Yuji thought to himself, seeing the huge form of a wolf's head appear.

From within the blaze, Margery wailed in the manner of a three-year old having a tantrum as over eight hundred years of pent-up rage, sorrow, and anxiety was unleashed.

"Damn, I think I overdid this." Yuji muttered while he quickly expanded the Fuzetsu. A huge pang of guilt and shame washed over Yuji, who was beginning to regret what he had said to Margery. Mental manipulation by words and playing off her emotions were some of the worst to do to a person, especially in a magnitude where he or she can never recover mentally from the ordeal.

'This isn't going to end well, though at least I didn't text Yutaro and Yukari on what exactly I was doing.' Yuji thought to himself as he readied the Rotational Edge.

The eyes of the wolf focused on the Mystes before wildly unleashing waves of fire. Bringing out the Azure that he had salvaged after the last confrontation against Friagne, Yuji was surrounded in an anti-flame bubble that negated the incoming inferno.

"YOU INSOLENT, ARROGANT LITTLE SHIT!" Marcosius roared with seething fury. "I'LL DESTROY YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO HER!"

"I am not doing anything that she hadn't already done to others throughout the centuries of her life." Yuji replied as he raced towards the Flame of Illusion that was Marcosius and Margery.

With the Azure on full blast, Yuji caught sight of a nude Margery hugging onto the Grimoire at the center of inferno. Instead of using power of existence, Yuji began channeling on the dark energies of the world, a skill that he had mysteriously inherited when the Reiji Maigo was passed onto him. The moment he was in close proximity, Yuji swung the Rotational Edge through the flames and slammed the flat side onto Margery's crown, knocking her out cold. It was tempting for Yuji to kill Margery right then and there but the youth didn't want to have the guilt in taking the life of one with a tragic past.

'I wonder if the Reiji Maigo itself was actually telling me not to shed the blood of others so coldly.' Yuji thought to himself as the Flame of Illusion dissipated. The Rotational Edge was slightly glowing with a cold blue light and the Mystes couldn't help but see the memory of an event that wasn't his own.

_Seven months ago…_

_Sabrac continued to unleash wave after wave of fire at Johan, who continued to deflect them with some difficulty while taking damage to his body amid his descent. At the same time, a cold blue light slowly engulfed his form and chunks of the earth began to rise and swirl around him in an energy vortex. The Mystes knew that he was beyond the power of the Reiji Maigo and that his time was near. He had been foolish to have underestimated Sabrac and now he had to pay the price. But Johan vowed to at least take the damn bastard down with him. The memory of what Sabrac had done to Pheles earlier seemed to give Johan a new wind while numbing his fatal injuries. With a cry, Johan engulfed himself completely in the dark energies of the world before slamming into Sabrac, sending the Guze King literally into hell, one that Johan had prepared to use on him._

_A good distance away, Pheles weakly regained consciousness before feeling the ground shake. The eruption suddenly took her by surprise yet the Guze Queen managed to shield herself from the explosion before hearing Sabrac's death cry as rose-madder flames erupted in an inferno that ruptured several acres of the earth, followed by an eerie cold blue fire that did even more damage before both of them reached into the sky and vanished. But while it would seem that nothing was left behind, Pheles managed to catch sight of the Reiji Maigo flying away into the sky before vanishing in a random translocation. The cries of anguish from the Guze Queen echoed across the ruined valley. _

IIIIII:::::IIIIII

"She said that Unrestricted Methods are definitely out of the question after trying everything she knew without damaging it." Yukari spoke.

"Perhaps but the Regression step in the Six Steps of Genesis was based off the concept of reversing substantial change in metaphysics. The thing is that physical matter is limited and confined in the form and appearance it takes down to the last tiny detail." Yutaro replied. "But in metaphysical essence, the materials that make up that painting are still here but in a different form. Even more so is that there are more forms within the painting itself, all arranged in a memory chronicle from origin to present state in an imprint. It will be possible to see its entire history on all of its forms and appearances, both individual and composite."

"Hmm… that could be something to work off of. I'll bring her in here." Yukari replied.

IIIIII:::::IIIIII

The night found Margery sitting on the grass and wearing a long cloth drape that wrapped around her body. Next to her, the Grimoire that Marcosius spoke through remained silent as the busty Flame Haze looked at the pendent that was the shape of a silver snake.

IIII::FLASHBACK::IIII

"Even in the end, you still were a difficult problem." Yuji muttered amid seeing Margery awake. "Still, I'm surprised that Flame Hazes and Denizens still fall for that prank."

"What?!" Margery glared daggers at Yuji, who simply held his hand out and conjured a blue flame. A few seconds later, the flame turned green, then red, then black, and then silver.

"It's a simple trick in which I can change the color of any flames that I conjure. The Silver was never really here to begin with." Yuji replied. "You just took everything hook, line, sinker, and pole without realizing the deception I've placed before you. Even though my acting skills sucked, I was surprised that you bought that charade."

Margery growled but with her aching body still under duress, she couldn't really lash out at the Mystes. "So you pulled a fast one on me?! Then all of this was for nothing?!"

"You could look at it that way but I merely wanted to see how I would fare against a Flame Haze assassin of your caliber." Yuji replied. "Simply put, just turning the flames in the Fuzetsu into a silver color had been your breaking point."

"You think this is some sort of joke to you?! That you can just pull a prank enough to play on the emotions of others?!" Marcosius roared.

"And what about you, Marcosius?" Yuji countered. "Think about the Flames Hazes that took the path of vengeance. Contractors such as yourself offer an easy solution at a time when the men and women are at their most vulnerable state of mind. It's a temptation that gives them power but isolates them from the world. In the end, they only become your pawns, simply tools of hunting that have no true sense of self."

The Mystes then looked at Margery. "My brother, my sister, and I have encountered the Silver as well, though it was not the reason as to why the three of us became Mystes in the first place. It just appears at will and chasing it is pointless."

"What… you think… you think I should give up on that?! The Silver means everything to me!" Margery shouted.

"The Silver is merely an instrument that feeds off the emotions and intent that flow from the strongest person." Yuji replied. "I meant what I said of the Silver being the manifestation from the darkness of one's heart when I was provoking you. I cannot say as to when it will appear and I certainly cannot force you to accept anything I say as the truth."

"I would kill you where you stand if not for the pain you've weakened me with." Margery snapped.

"For someone who has lived longer than I, you sure act like a child with a temper tantrum." Yuji replied before producing a snake-shaped pendent. "In this contains one of the many Psalms of the Grand Order, an Unrestricted Method that is linked to the Silver that you seek and both of them are instruments to the Snake of the Festival, the founder and god of the Balle Masque. Simply put, the enemy you've been seeking throughout the majority of our life is simply the servant of a far greater power."

"What?! Him?!" Marcosius quipped in surprise.

"I'd do my own research if I were you." Yuji replied as he placed the pendent into Margery's open hand. "You can take this if you want. As long as the Snake of the Festival doesn't try to revive himself through the Reiji Maigo within me, I could hardly care on what you'll do with that Psalm of the Grand Order or how you'll deal with the Balle Masque."

"Where did you get this?" Margery inquired in a low voice.

"Sabrac placed one in the Reiji Maigo moments before he was killed by Johan, who also died that day." Yuji replied. "It took some time to completely remove and isolate it within a container like that pendent. When either the Snake of the Festival or the Silver does appear, it will up to you on how you'll deal with them."

IIIII::FLASHBACK ENDS::IIIII

"That kid sure is a painful help." Margery muttered to herself.

"If there's one thing he's right about, it's the fact that being full of anger makes you predictable and vulnerable." Marcosius replied. "For a Mystes to have beaten us like that, I really feel that my pride is ruined."

Despite the undesirable feeling from the reply, Margery didn't punch the Grimoire, knowing that she had been bested. But then again, the Mystes named Yuji seemed to know a lot about the Guze and had a surprising set of combat skills and prowess to have made him a formidable opponent.

"'The way of combat among humans have evolved over time and I have vast skills in my repertoire that can destroy any enemy, be it Guze no Ou or Flame Haze.'" Margery quoted. "With him and whatever allies he has roaming around the city, I have a feeling the Reiji Maigo might attract greater enemies here. Perhaps even the Balle Masque might show up too."

The sound of an approaching vehicle drew Margery's attention that she turned to find Keisaku Satou arriving on a motorcycle with a sidecar.

"Well, at least we'll have someone willing to look after us." Marcosius remarked.

IIIIII::::::IIIIII

The following morning found Yutaro standing in the lawn behind Leanan-sidhe as they looked at Lamies. Last night bore witness to the Mystes of the Mahiru Maigo had using nearly all of his power of existence when he temporarily forced Leanan-sidhe's painting to regress its time and life history through the Unrestricted Ritual called the Chronicle of Esse. Thankfully, the Spiral Organ had kept the painting under the Unrestricted Method Pure Coffin, which was created by the late Guze King Azis, such that it didn't get ruined further. Otherwise, Yutaro would've had no chance in achieving the impossible. Since Yutaro initially didn't have enough fuel, Leanan-sidhe had given him the power of existence that the Guze Queen herself had gathered for centuries and the result paid off successfully, even though it was only for a short while. Nonetheless, though, to say that Leanan-sidhe was happy to see the very image of the painting in its temporary restored state would be a major understatement. The Guze Queen had found the desired closure to her centuries-old wish and could now look forward to the future's open door. The Mystes had wondered on why the Guze Queen was unable to be the primary driving force behind the utilization of the Chronicle of Esse before realizing that she didn't have the necessary focus and perceptive accuracy that he did in order to use it properly to the fullest effect possible.

Right now, he was watching Lamies, keeping his sight on the burning flame within the old man that was about to go out at any moment.

"I really enjoyed your company, Leanan." Lamies was saying. "I must thank you for giving this old soul the chance to see the whole world one last time."

"But why must you pass on?" Leanan-sidhe asked in a pleading voice. "No one would mind giving you power of existence to remain here."

Lamies smiled. "Death isn't the end. It is just a transition for one to embark on the next great adventure that awaits. I appreciate the thought but it is my own decision at will. Besides, Cosette is waiting for me on the other side and I've lived so long and done everything that I wanted to do."

Leanan-sidhe's eyes saddened greatly as she looked at the ground in resignation, her mind filled with more than just sadness in seeing her companion deciding to leave.

"I'm so sorry, Lamies. I'm so sorry for putting my desires above everything else…" The Guze Queen wept before feeling a pair of hands rest on her shoulders. Looking up, she saw Lamies smiling at her.

"Leanan, don't be sad because of my decision and it certainly wasn't because of you or anything you did." Lamies replied. "The passage of time brings forth the chance to become a better person. While I admit that you were a stubborn one despite your age when we first met, you've grown out of it and have become a fine young woman that stands before me today. Just promise me one thing."

"Anything, Lamies." Leanan-sidhe spoke with tear-filled eyes.

"Live on and enjoy life without any regrets." Lamies spoke in a grandfatherly-like tone.

The Spiral Organ nodded silently before embracing the elderly man.

A moment later, the two of them parted and Lamies looked at Yutaro.

"Even though we've only met for a short time, I thank you and your family for the generous hospitality during my stay here." the elderly man spoke.

"Think nothing of it, though it is disheartening to see someone like you leaving this world." Yutaro replied. "But even so, you will not be forgotten and neither is this departure for eternity. I'm sure we shall meet once more."

Lamies nodded sagely and, right before Leanan-sidhe and Yutaro, the elderly man slowly vanished as the flame within him flickered out and the blue light embers faded into the light of the morning sunrise.

"Leanan…" Yutaro began only to find the Spiral Organ hugging him tightly, her face buried into his shoulder.

"Please just hold me." the Guze Queen whispered and Yutaro held her as she cried in his arms.

IIIIII:::::IIIIII

Note:

I know that I've made Yuji sound like an insensitive jerk with the aggressive dialogue and strong language. But I noticed that in battle, the kid has a different persona and I couldn't help but exaggerate it out of proportion in regards to mentally breaking his opponent in a fight and playing off emotions. Of course, I wonder even SoTF Sakai Yuji might have said similar dialogue and such. Just my own take on Yuji's dark side manifesting for a moment.

Read and review and shoot me if you wish.


	4. A Week Later

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

IIIII::::IIIII

"And this is where Yuji and I tend to go after school when either one of us isn't on patrol in the city." Yutaro spoke as he gave Leanan-sidhe, who was wearing a female school uniform instead of her summer dress, a tour around the underground warehouse where huge jugs of bootleg liquor and other alcoholic beverages were made that Friday afternoon after the school day ended.

"So you two are the ones that have been making all those wines." Leanan-sidhe replied in an accusing but playful tone. "I've seen some of your beverages for sale in Europe and never would have I imagine that all of them came from here."

"I crafted a timer Unrestricted Spell called the Parabolic Exponential that isolates the inanimate object in a ward and accelerates the time passing rate within it. For example, a full ten days outside is equivalent to twenty-seven years within the ward if I set the base for ten days and placed the power at number four." Yutaro explained. "Thanks to it, Yuji and I managed to brew a lot of wine that can sometimes be several hundred years old, though selling it had to be severely regulated in order to avoid suspicion."

"It sounds like you two are holding all of the cards in regards to supply and demand." Leanan-sidhe remarked.

"It helps when it comes to negotiating prices and allowing the buyers to taste a sip from the very bottles we sell to them gives them confidence and trust to pay a hefty but reasonable sum." Yutaro replied. "Anyways, I'm usually spending time here and at least you'll know the familiar spots that my siblings and mother are aware of."

"Alright then." Leanan-sidhe replied before catching sight of a table with several papers. Her eyes widened when she saw that they were paintings and the images of various landscapes were so well done. "Yutaro, did you paint these?"

"Yeah but that's only out of boredom." Yutaro replied as he turned away from a nearby apparatus. "Usually when I'm waiting for the distillation process on certain commodities to finish, I would kill time by painting whatever comes to mind or do homework from school."

"I see." Leanan-sidhe replied while thinking. 'Yutaro paints so well almost like him!'

The Guze Queen smiled as a deep sense of confidence rose within her. She didn't know whether it was coincidence or destiny yet but Leanan-sidhe had time to discover things for herself while in Misaki.

IIIII::::IIIII

Chigusa may have been a carefree woman in nature but she wasn't an airhead as the normal would think, considering on how friendly and cheerful she was. While it would seem that having two twin sons and a surrogate daughter would have been a handful for the young housewife, the opposite was the actual truth. With Yutaro, Yuji, and Yukari living with her, Chigusa had no problems with it economic-wise, though the only worry she had was losing them to the war for existence. Everyday during the school year, the three of them would set out to Misaki Municipal High School. Once classes ended, either one of the three would return home while the other two would be keeping an eye out on things. It was usually Yukari that would return home. Yuji would only head back if he needed to buy or sell various commodities eBay. If there was one thing she didn't like, it was the fact that Yuji AND Yutaro were engaging in illicit alcohol bootlegging while abusing their Shadow-Walk abilities. While Yuji's buying and selling on eBay bought some income through the profits reaped, it was pocket change compared to the income that their bootlegging/rum-running business brought in, only trailing Kantaro's yearly income overseas by a narrow margin. Chigusa didn't find it necessary for her two sons to help in the household income but then, that was the only issue that she virtually had no sway over. Due to their nearly frugal lifestyle, the Sakai household had an immense source of capital funds from the alcohol bootlegging alone at their disposal. In Japan, high incomes meant everything in regards to meeting and even exceeding the standard costs of living.

As Chigusa was cooking at the stove, she thought about the new addition into Sakai household, one Guze Queen named Leanan-sidhe. With her journey completed and the door to a personal issue of her past closed, Chigusa invited the Spiral Organ to stay with her and the latter actually accepted. Perhaps it was due to Lamies passing away in this very city or it was due to Yutaro actually achieving success in helping Leanan-sidhe in regards to the painting or both.

"Until Kantaro returns home, there won't be any deadlocks." Chigusa spoke happily to herself, feeling content that her two sons would be somewhat marginalized by the presence of three women in the house. It felt good to the young housewife to be on the side that held the numerical advantage in the battle of the sexes in regards to making collective decisions.

"I wonder on how Leanan-sidhe's first day in high school went?" she asked, voicing a curious thought.

IIIII:::::IIIII

Shaking her head a bit and taking the headphones off her ears, having listened to a few tracks from Linkin Park. The music shop she was visiting was in Akihabara, which was considerably far from Misaki. Since the music shop in Misaki didn't have a certain album from the United States, Yukari had Shadow-Walked over a hundred miles from Misaki to Akihibara to see if she could find her target. She didn't go alone as Yuji tagged along on the reason that a cosplay convention was being held there and he wanted to check something out.

"Knowing him, he's probably DOING something instead of checking something." Yukari muttered to herself before catching sight of a CD album called Angels and Demons by the music band Fuel. After listening to a few track samples, Yukari smiled before taking it off the shelf and heading to the counter to make her purchase.

After leaving the shop, Yukari followed a number of costume-dressed people that were heading to the convention, hoping to find Yuji and see what he was up to when she bumped into a young man.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that." Yukari apologized to the stranger. But the moment she got a good look at him, the Mystes of the Seiren Maigo immediately detected a familiar Hougu within the young man that was a dead giveaway to his identity.

"Yuji?!" Yukari asked incredulously.

"How do I look?" Yuji asked as Yukari checked him out. The Mystes of the Reiji Maigo had his hair dyed a purple-blue color and his face painted white with his eye corners dark as well as the sides of his mouth. His attire consisted of a sleeveless shirt over a long-sleeve turtleneck and black bagging slacks with a long strip of cloth dangling off the left side of the belt.

"Um, so what are you suppose to be?" Yukari inquired questioningly.

"Just stuff that someone extended the decoration upon when working on me just a minute ago." Yuji replied.

"Hey, it's a Jeff Hardy cosplayer!" a voice shouted out and Yuji turned to see several photographers take snapshots of him while Yukari quickly moved out of the way.

'Well, come to think of it, he actually does look like him in a way.' Yukari thought to herself with amusement and it wasn't long before the photography directed at Yuji stopped.

"Yuji, I question on whether you're capable of being a quick-change artist once your new look isn't needed after a fight." Yukari spoke as they made their way through the crowds. "When you left home while wearing those clothes, I had a feeling that you were up to something. By the way, who painted your face?"

"Yukari, it was just a coincidence. Regarding my face, it was some clown with a make up kit that she was using to paint the faces of little kids." Yuji replied with a grin. "I kind of like the idea of a painted face in combat so I asked her to paint my face in a particular format."

"What about the hair dye and the dangling cloth hanging off your belt's left side?" Yukari asked.

"Same person. She was rather convincing and I couldn't say no to her." Yuji admitted sheepishly. "Anyways, I prepaid a purchase of a new hard drive with a faster processing speed and a memory capacity that is twenty fold over the memory capacity of the computer at home. It seems that the advertised discount was true and taking place at the computer shops here."

"That's good to hear. By the way, let's see what mom says of your new appearance." Yukari replied while thinking. 'Looks like I was wrong about you doing something out of the ordinary today.'

Yuji's expression turned to one of surprise at Yukari's suggestion. It was such that as they were making their way through the crowds, the back of Yuji's right hand made contact with the hand of another person. Immediately, a vortex of winds erupted and both Mystes felt the activation of an Unrestricted Method.

'Damage control!' Yukari thought as she quickly activated a Fuzetsu before feeling the arrival of a powerful Guze no Ou within the amber-colored tornado. Yukari tried to breech through the vortex but the winds were too strong that she was thrown back.

Inside the vortex, Yuji looked upwards as a beautiful young woman with long green hair, a voluptuous figure, and wearing a tan-and-brown form-fitting leather suit and high heels appeared. The facial expression on the newcomer's face seemed cold.

'Oh hell, she's a Guze no Ou! Is this who I think it is?' Yuji thought to himself before feeling the Reiji Maigo resonate that he thought with resignation and tension. 'Pheles.'

'The Reiji Maigo ended up with this punk?' Pheles thought to herself.

Indeed, it seemed that potential sparks were about to erupt between the Mystes and the Guze Queen, sparks that weren't the type involving pyrotechnics.

IIIII:::::IIIII

Back in Misaki City…

Margery continued to cast multiple Unrestricted Methods as she scanned the pendent that Yuji gave her and which contained one of the Psalms of the Grand Order. Nearby Keisaku watched the Interpreter of Condolences at work. Ever since he retrieved her with his motorcycle, the youth wasn't able to find out as to what had happened other than the fact that Margery took a beating. The Flame Haze and her contractor didn't talk about it in the week that followed after the battle.

"You seem rather focused on this instead of looking for the Corpse Retriever." Keisaku remarked. "What made you change targets?"

"The Corpse Retriever has become a trivial matter, especially when he's only going after Torches that are about to burn out." Margery replied with a hint of annoyance. "Besides, it was that fight that changed my mind when I was given this, a valuable clue along with information leading to an enemy that I have hunted most of my life."

Seeing that she wasn't going to talk further on the issue, Keisaku looked at the Grimoire. "Care to enlighten me?"

"The revelations given to my goblet were too shocking. Even between the two of us, we're not comfortable in talking about it." Marcosius replied.

Keisaku sighed. "Who was the enemy that she fought and what happened to him or her?"

"A Mystes named Yuji. He's probably a student at your school." Margery replied offhandedly, not catching the look of surprise on Keisaku's face.

"Yuji? Sakai Yuji?" Keisaku asked in astonishment.

"You know him?" Marcosius asked.

"He, along with his brother Yutaro and his adoptive sister Yukari Hirai, are in a different class section." Keisaku replied, thinking about the distantness that the three had become last year despite being on friendly terms with him, Tanaka, Matake, Ike, and Kazumi. "I don't see them as much I used to. Yuji is a nice character."

"Nice?! You should hear the language he used when I fought him!" Margery suddenly snapped.

Keisaku took a step back amid Margery's outburst. It was only after Margery realized on who she was talking to did she take a deep breath to calm herself.

"Sorry." The Flame Haze muttered before going back to work on her project.

'I wonder what Sakai said to have humbled Margery like this.' Keisaku thought to himself.

IIIII:::::IIIII

It was a staring contest the moment Pheles landed on the ground. Yuji merely held his ground as he looked at the Beautiful Whim, oblivious to her rather sexy appearance. Both of them were the same height, though Pheles looked to be five years older than Yuji.

'I better find a way to escape.' Yuji thought to himself.

Despite her cold exterior, Pheles was inwardly amused in regards to the person that the Reiji Maigo ended up with. Looking past the get-up that the Mystes was in, she had to admit that he was a handsome one, though a bit too young for her tastes.

'You're a cute one, kid. Still, I'll take Reiji Maigo from you.' Pheles thought to herself.

With that, the Guze Queen began to walk towards Yuji with an apologetic expression. But the Mystes, having seen the hidden intent from a mile away, narrowed his eyes before jumping several feet away and landing in a combative stance.

"I'm not that ignorant, Pheles." Yuji spoke.

Pheles's eyes widened. 'He knows who I am?! How?!'

From outside the tornado, Yukari was in a meditative trance, mentally seeing what was going on within the eye of the storm. She could definitely sense Yuji along with Pheles, though there was something different about the latter.

'Kaze no Tenrin? Ah, the Unrestricted Method to create an avatar of herself when the target is found.' The Mystes of the Seiren Maigo thought to herself. 'But Yutaro said that Pheles was a very powerful Guze no Ou, a few levels above even Friagne in terms of power. Don't die in there, Yuji.'

Yukari shifted her attention to the tornado, hoping to find a small opening that she could exploit. She could only hope that Yuji could hold out until she herself could assist him.

IIIII:::::IIIII

Well, I couldn't help but have Leanan-sidhe join Yuji and the others in high school after her journey ends.

Might as well start the chain of events here.

Read and review and give suggestions if you wish.


	5. No Such Thing As Ordinary

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

IIIII::::IIIII

From high above the Inbelna with her presence concealed, Pheles didn't know that her avatar had her work cut out for her as she tried to grab Yuji, who continued to evade and dodge in a game of tag. Even after activating the Inbelna, the streak of unsuccessful captures continued amid the Mystes dodging and even somersaulting over the Guze Queen's avatar.

"Damn it, stay still!" Pheles's avatar snapped.

"I apologize." Yuji replied before remaining rooted to the spot as Pheles's avatar soared to grab hold of the Mystes. But at the last second, Yuji had simply moved sideways to evade the attempted grab while leaving his left leg as a trip-line and sending his right leg in a kick to the back of her calves, causing Pheles's avatar to lose balance and fall face first into the ground. Summoning the Rotational Edge, he slammed the weapon into the avatar's midsection and was surprised to see it shine and explode in a flash of light. When Tomogara were killed in battle, they would burst into embers.

'Is this just a simulacrum?' Yuji thought to himself, unaware that the real Pheles had silently appeared while concealing her presence. With Yuji no doubtingly worn down by her avatar, the Guze Queen silently closed the distance before stabbing her right hand into his back. Yuji cried out in pain before sensing the Reiji Maigo resonate wildly. Adrenaline still running through his body, Yuji swung and delivered a hook kick straight into Pheles's midsection. The shockwave had the Guze Queen staggering back amid getting the wind knocked out of her. Yet, he now managed to figure out that Pheles had used an avatar to distract him while closing the distance unnoticed. Grabbing the Rotational Edge, Yuji closed the distance before swinging the chainsaw-sword to decapitate Pheles when the Hougu suddenly felt very heavy that he dropped it onto the ground as though it weighed a ton. He could feel the power of existence that he was using in the fight being taken away by the Reiji Maigo, leaving only the power of existence that he was using to sustain his life and presence in the world. Pheles, seeing an opening, swept Yuji off his feet with a well-placed kick before grabbing his throat with her left hand and stabbing him in the chest with her right hand. As she dug her hand deeper, Pheles managed to grab the Reiji Maigo, only to feel it slip out of her grasp the moment she tried to yank it out. She tried again and again to no avail. The Reiji Maigo refused to budge.

"What?! What have you done to the Reiji Maigo?!" the Guze Queen snapped as she tried and failed repeatedly to extract the Hougu. Amid the excruciating pain of Pheles stabbing him in the chest, Yuji felt his rational mind slipping and it wasn't long before a burst of dark blue energy blasted Pheles off of him. It felt as if someone had shocked her with a light jolt of electricity and the Guze Queen caught sight of a dark blue light shining in the eyes of the Mystes, who calmly stood up. Yuji could barely keep his balance amid the exhaustion that resulted from the adrenaline burst earlier and the pain of getting stabbed by Pheles twice.

'It can't be! He can use Quintessence too but how?!' Pheles thought incredulously. She knew that Johan had some proficiency in drawing on the 5th classical element to augment his combat skills during times when conserving power of existence before the midnight replenishing was important. Pheles also remembered on how Johan had used the dark cosmic element to deliver the fatal yet suicidal blow that killed Sabrac months ago.

"Very selfish and disappointing to see that you'll kill others just to get what you want." Yuji spoke so venomously that Pheles flinched. "A part of me wishes not to strike down a beautiful woman like you because I was hoping we could just talk."

Pheles narrowed her eyes at Yuji while inwardly feeling slightly flattered.

"But on the other hand, we could just take the easy way and fight." Yuji spoke.

Sure enough, the Mystes held his right hand forward before unleashing a wave of cold blue energy. Pheles countered with a wave of amber lightning and both attacks intercepted in midair. Try as they might, neither the Mystes nor the Guze Queen could gain the edge.

From behind a magazine/manga stand not far away, Yukari's eyes widened upon seeing Yuji in a confrontation of sorts against Pheles, whom she confirmed clearly to be the real deal. The Mystes of the Seiren Maigo sensed a faint arrival of two beings before looking into the shadows next to her to find Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe emerge.

"Yo, Yukari." Yutaro spoke before noticing Yuji contending against Pheles. "Looks like it was only a matter of time before the Beautiful Whim found the Reiji Maigo."

"Yeah." Yukari replied. "What do you think of his new look?"

"Not bad if he wants to be a metal rock star or something." Yutaro replied. "Though I probably won't understand the face paint."

"So what brings you two out here?" Yukari asked.

"Mrs. Sakai said that dinner was ready and she asked us to retrieve you and Yuji." Leanan-sidhe spoke before an explosion erupted that the three turned to find Yuji and Pheles passed out and unconscious.

"Let's grab Yuji, move Pheles to the rooftop, repair the damage, and head back to Misaki." Yukari spoke.

"You two handle Pheles and repair the damage here. I'll get Yuji home." Yutaro spoke.

IIIIII::::IIIIII

"_Johan." Pheles whispered amid seeing the Eternal Lover. "Is this…?"_

"_I wouldn't say a dream." Johan replied. "But unfortunately, this is just an open chance for a spirit like me to visit you."_

_Pheles hugged him tightly and Johan returned the embrace. "I missed you."_

"_I missed you too." Johan replied before both of them parted._

"_Johan, what happened that day?" Pheles asked calmly._

"_While you were unconscious, Sabrac had used a rare Hougu called the Atropos on me. It was designed to kill any Mystes by triggering their Hougus to drain all of their power of existence. But since the Reiji Maigo was a special Hougu that generated power of existence for the Mystes bearing it, it didn't kill me immediately although I only had an estimated ninety seconds to live. All of my power of existence within my capacity was being forced back into the Reiji Maigo at a slow rate." Johan replied. "My fate was already decided at that time so if I was going down, I was going to take Sabrac with me as well as destroy the Atropos so that no Mystes would be robbed of their dwindling days of life."_

_Pheles's eyes widened and the answer to her question satisfied. She couldn't blame Johan for doing what he did, although though the result was painful. If Sabrac was still alive, Pheles would torture the bastard to the point that he would beg to be killed. The Blade-Breaker had used a Hougu made by Johan's late and deranged father that Pheles had never found when she killed him and destroyed his laboratory. At least now it was gone._

"_The Reiji Maigo is safe within the new Mystes." Pheles spoke. "Though he's skilled in combat and can use the Quintessence, he's uncivilized like a street thug."_

"_I've watched him a few times and I can't help but agree." Johan replied. "But I must say that outside of battle, he's kind of like me in character. It's likely that he only shows such contrasting behavior that you've experienced only during fights."_

"_Kind of like unleashing one's inner beast?" Pheles asked._

"_Yeah, somewhere along those lines." Johan replied._

"_I'm sorry, Johan." Pheles whispered. "I tried to kill him and take the Reiji Maigo. I let my greed get the better of me and I forgot on the importance of another being's life."_

"_It's alright. Besides, there's nothing to forgive." Johan replied. "Please don't kill him."_

"_I won't although I won't promise you that I won't beat him up half to death." Pheles replied._

"_That's more than acceptable." Johan smiled. "It looks like my visiting time is about to end."_

"_Johan, please don't go." Pheles begged._

"_I'm sorry, Pheles." Johan whispered as he began to fade. "Promise that you will live on for my sake and embrace the future. That's all I ask."_

_The Guze Queen looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "I will. But why is it that I couldn't extract the Reiji Maigo out of him?"_

"_Apparently, it seems to have accepted him such that you'll be hindered from doing so." Johan replied. "It also appears that Yuji can't kill you either as the Reiji Maigo renders him incapable of such action. It seems that the Reiji Maigo's sentience is preventing you both from killing each other."_

"_I see." Pheles whispered in surprise._

"_Pheles, I'll always watch you from afar." Johan whispered. "Thank you for the life we had together and someday, I pray that we'll see each other again."_

"_Johan…" Pheles whispered as she and the late Mystes shared one last kiss._

Waking up, Pheles found herself laying on the rooftop of a building alone. The last thing she could remember was the Quintessence backlash that results from herself and the Mystes using the 5th element against each other at the same time. Of course, there was also a dream in which Johan had visited her from the abode of the dead. She felt her lips and swore that she could've tasted Johan's kiss earlier.

"Was it all a dream?" Pheles muttered to herself before moving to stand when she felt something made of fabric move off of her body. The Guze Queen then noticed that it was Johan's trench-coat.

IIIII::::IIII

That night, Yuji was asleep in the bedroom, occupying the right side while Yutaro occupied the left side. The adjacent room belonged to Yukari and Leanan-sidhe, both of whom were still wide awake and having a bit of a lingerie pillow fight. The Mystes of the Seiren Maigo saw it as an initiation on inviting the Spiral Organ as her sister. Leanan-sidhe was blushing amid the activity as she certainly couldn't comprehend why certain girls have such strange ideas. But then again, the Guze Queen found some entertainment from engaging in a pillow fight with the Mystes while the two of them were half-naked behind a locked door.

Of course, neither Yuji nor Yutaro didn't know AND wouldn't ever know on what went on next door that night lest they had to face the wrath of Yukari and Leanan-sidhe. After all, hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn and Yutaro certainly didn't want to anger Leanan-sidhe, whom he seemed to harbor an interest in while somewhat noticing the Guze Queen being drawn to him like a moth to a light.

Yuji, on the other hand, was single and not prone to seeking a relationship. The normal girls in school were out of the question as they'll eventually grow old and die while he himself would remain stuck in the appearance of a sixteen year old with eternal life thanks to the Reiji Maigo. Obviously, that mindset had rubbed onto Yukari, who also followed that reasoning, although she did have a bit of an interest some Flame Haze kid she mentioned that wore street clothing and carried a large tuning instrument on his back.

'Well, perhaps we can convince whatever Flame Haze kid she was talking about to buy a cell phone just in case Yukari wants to Shadow-Walk and appear at his side at her own discretion or for a date.' Yuji thought before drifting off.

"_Hello Yuji." A masculine voice greeted._

_Yuji raised an eyebrow to find a young blond-haired man in his early twenties._

"_And your name is?" Yuji inquired._

"_Johan." The young man replied._

"_Ah, the Mystes that helped Pheles in creating the Reiji Maigo." Yuji replied. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"_

"_Yes but ghosts do sometimes have ways of visiting the living." Johan replied. "Anyways, I came here to challenge you just to see how good you are."_

_That took Yuji by surprise. "You want a match?"_

_Johan nodded. "I want to see how good my predecessor is. Just hand-to-hand combat only."_

"_Okay. You're on!" Yuji replied before running at Johan, delivering a double jump kick that the young man batted aside. But Yuji didn't relent in the assault as he sent an inward right kick that was blocked only to follow up less than a second later with an outward right crescent kick that Johan ducked before blocking the incoming left kick. Yuji blocked Johan's right kick before attempting a left round-the-house. But Johan grabbed Yuji's leg before throwing him aside. _

_Recovering, Yuji dashed back in, spinning clear of Johan's front kick before swinging his fists that met the former Mystes's blocking arms. Johan blocked Yuji's right crescent kick before returning his own in kind. Yuji, instead of blocking it, bended his upper body back that Johan's kick missed. The moment it cleared, Yuji sent a front kick that caught Johan in the chest before jumping back with the former Mystes following. Blocking a punch, Yuji sent a sharp sweep kick that took Johan off his feet. Johan managed to block Yuji's incoming kicks as he got to his feet before closing in to swing with his fists. Yuji managed to block a right jab and deflect a left cross before punching Johan in the stomach with a left jab and in the face with a right cross. _

_Shaking the pain off, Johan swung at Yuji, who blocked and deflected the incoming swings while trying to retaliate. Blocking a right cross from Yuji, Johan pulled his foe's right arm towards him before kicking him in the stomach that Yuji doubled over and sent an elbow into his back. Yuji managed to deliver a sweep kick that took Johan off his feet. The former Mystes rolled back onto his feet to evade the incoming knee strike before delivering a hook kick that caught Yuji in the ribs and followed after the youth. Yuji managed to deflect a right crescent kick before delivering a left outward crescent kick that Johan ducked and a left sweep kick that Johan jumped over and then an inward right crescent kick that quickly nailed Johan in the face before the former Mystes could block. Yuji didn't relent as he quickly continued the offensive with a back-flip kick that struck Johan in the chin before falling low to kick at his shins, displacing his footing off the ground that had the former Mystes almost falling forward and, within less than a millisecond, Yuji delivered a side thrust kick into the stomach that sent Johan flying a few feet and landing on his back. _

_Yuji charged in, only to be thrown back as Johan unleashed a blast of energy._

"_Okay, that's enough." Johan replied. "Looks like you've exceeded my expectations, Sakai Yuji."_

"_My older twin Yutaro taught me some Wushu and I just picked it up from there." Yuji replied. "If you thought I was hard, then you'll realize the hard way that Yutaro is a nightmare."_

_Johan nodded. "Despite that, you've bested me in the martial arts, something which I merely compensated with my spell-casting."_

"_When it comes to spell-casting, I think you and probably Yukari would have the edge." Yuji replied. "I'm balanced between spell-casting and close-quarter combat."_

"_My time grows short but thanks for the duel. I had to see it for myself." Johan replied. "If you meet Pheles again, please don't kill her."_

"_Why not?" Yuji asked. "Your girlfriend nearly had me cold enough to kick the bucket when we first met."_

"_No one is perfect and even the saints themselves have lapses in judgment." Johan replied sagely. "I don't expect you to forgive Pheles but please don't kill her."_

_Yuji took a deep breath before replying. "After getting impaled by Pheles twice, nothing would thrill me more than to have her join you in the afterlife. I may not like it but I won't kill Pheles only because you requested it as my predecessor."_

"_Thank you, Yuji." Johan replied. "I really appreciate it."_

"_My apologies. The human desire for retaliation is a natural impulse and the compulsion to even or settle old scores is fueled by it." Yuji spoke._

"_Well, I can't blame you for feeling that way but being a hothead is a liability. Anyways, take good care of yourself, Sakai Yuji." Johan replied before vanishing._

"_I will." Yuji replied as blackness surrounded his vision._

IIIII::::IIIII

Monday morning in class…

Yutaro, Yuji, Yukari, and Leanan-sidhe were sitting in their designated seats as the homeroom teacher came in. Yukari was sitting in the middle part of the left row two seats ahead of Yuji, who was occupying the seat before the last unoccupied seat behind him. Yutaro and Leanan were sitting next to each other in the back of the classroom. Earlier that morning, the four of them sensed the presence of a powerful Guze no Ou nearby yet there was no intent to inflict harm.

After the morning lessons, lunchtime began. While Yutaro, Yukari, and Leanan-sidhe stayed in class to eat, Yuji went up to the roof and found himself face-to-face with a certain beautiful green-haired Guze Queen wearing a trenchcoat over her formfitting attire.

"Hello Yuji." Pheles replied in a strangely kind tone.

"Pheles." Yuji replied civilly. "The others sensed a presence earlier. I didn't expect for you to find me so easily."

"I'm just here to talk." Pheles replied and Yuji had a good feeling on what the subject was going to be about.

IIIIII:::::IIIII

In an alleyway…

Keisaku, still wearing the school uniform of Misaki High School, swung the metal nunchaku at his target, hearing the sound of metal hitting and damaging flesh. As usual he was skipping school, but today, Keisaku was out for blood against a number of thugs that had robbed him up a few days earlier. While losing only a hundred yen seemed like a pitiful amount not worth fighting over, the youth wasn't one to let the weekly harassment continue.

He had waited in ambush for one of his targets in an alleyway before sneaking up behind the guy and smashing the back of his head with the metal nunchaku. Keisaku managed to get several cheap shots before the thug, garbed in street clothing, turned to face him in a dizzied state.

"Fucker!" Keisaku shouted as he ran and swung at his foe, who ducked and tried to barrel in retaliation. But Keisaku sent his knee into the man's mid-section before grabbing his collar and delivering a devastating cross punch that knocked a tooth out. As the thug staggered back, Keisaku kicked him in the ribs before putting on a pair of brass knuckles and began punching his quarry non-stop. Blood poured copiously and broken teeth littered the ground as Keisaku kept punching even after the thug lost consciousness until he felt a trashcan lid slam against his back.

Turning, he saw the rest of the gang, a total of five holding switchblades and the followers of the man he just beat up terribly.

"Get that bastard!" one of them yelled before they rushed him. Keisaku, having retrieved his metal nunchaku, swung upwards at the nearest foe, striking the chin with his weapon. Ducking under the swinging blade of a knife, Keisaku swung his nunchaku at the man's legs, taking him off balance, before jumping into the air and landing a double kick to another. A sharp pain erupted on the lower side of his back and Keisaku knew that one of them had stabbed them before swinging the nunchaku sideways, striking the enemy behind him. Running on pure adrenaline and rage despite his injuries, he staggered like a drunken metronome, swinging the nunchaku to clear some space.

"Bastards!" Keisaku yelled as he swung the nunchaku in a skillful display. "Come on, fuckers!"

Still stunned from the blows they received, the gang of five attacked Keisaku, who reacted violently as he swung the nunchaku striking three while having to kick away a fourth. The fifth thug barreled into Keisaku, stabbing him deep in the stomach with his switchblade. Yet, Keisaku didn't feel it as he elbowed and even struck the blunt ends of his nunchaku into the thug's back before getting kicked into a wall. Getting to his feet, Keisaku found himself swarmed yet he refused to concede. The brass knuckles on his fists did terrible damage as he punched several teeth and left ruptured mouths amid swinging wildly with his fists. After sending two thugs into the ladder of a fire escape, he punched the third before taking him out with a crescent kick. The sudden kick to his upper kick resulted in Keisaku jump-spinning with an outward crescent kick that sent the fourth thug flying into a garbage pile. The fifth thug tried to stab Keisaku, who ducked before delivering an uppercut into the man's face. Grabbing his nunchaku, Keisaku swung the weapon at his foe and could hear the sound of bone shattering in the face. But Keisaku didn't stop there as he swung at his downed and unconscious enemy, slamming the nunchaku into his face with uncontrolled anger. The long period of having to endure the torment of this gang had sent him over the edge. The next nunchaku blow would've been a fatal one but Keisaku felt someone grab the other end of his weapon before he could finish his enemy off.

"Keisaku, that's enough." A feminine voice spoke in a soothing manner that sliced through his fog of rage and Keisaku turned to see none other than Margery with a sad look on her face.

Slowly but surely, Keisaku felt the blazing adrenaline and rage dim down and fade as Margery had him stand.

"We need to leave and once we're back home, you and I are going to talk about this." Margery spoke softly, having seen a savage side of the youth that reminded the Flame Haze of herself.

IIIIII:::::IIIIII

Read and review and give me suggestions on this project.


	6. Weeding Out the Cradle Garden

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

IIIII::::IIIII

"There's hardly anything to speak about. The only obvious fact is that I can't kill you and neither can you take the Reiji Maigo out of me." Yuji replied. "But then again, you could just hire someone to kill me just to get what you want."

"Perhaps but I can't trust anyone to do so." Pheles replied. "Nonetheless, since Johan and I created the Reiji Maigo, I cannot let the Hougu out of my sights."

"Can't you just place a tracer on it and head back to the Guze?" Yuji suggested. "Besides, I'm mostly around Misaki City anyways unless my elder brother and I take some business trips outside the country."

"I don't appreciate you trying to weasel your way out of my sights, little boy." Pheles replied.

"And I certainly can't trust you as you've tried to kill me earlier." Yuji countered.

"Point taken since I've no doubtingly left a bad first impression on you." Pheles spoke.

"My elder twin Yutaro, my adoptive sister Yukari, and myself have fought to protect our own lives and those living in Misaki." Yuji replied in a sub-zero tone. "It seems obvious that we don't take kindly to Tomogara and Guze no Ou that try to take me or my siblings out of existence."

Pheles's eyes widened a bit. "You really have the hatred that many Flame Hazes live by."

"Not hatred for the individual beings but the hatred for their actions." Yuji replied. "Personal attacks would result in a quick death but attacks on friends and family amounts to a retribution that is far worse than death itself. Surely you would know that pain in losing someone you dote and cherish."

Pheles nodded sadly, looking away as her eyes welled with tears. "Johan was the one person I loved so deeply and now he's gone from this plane forever. He executed a suicidal attack to completely kill Sabrac just so that I can live on. I should've died on that day with him."

"So that his sacrifice would have been for naught?" Yuji asked. "Perhaps he loved you so much that he wanted you to live on for his sake."

"What would you know about my pain?!" Pheles shrieked. "You cannot comprehend it so stop humoring me with your sympathy! You're unworthy to so much as think that you can understand!"

"Understand what?! Understand loss?! Perhaps not yet, though Yukari knows the feeling! The Flame Haze murderer, Friagne the Hunter, consumed her entire family right before she too had her existence taken! I'd like to see you look at her in the eye and say that to her face!" Yuji snapped before continuing. "Yutaro and I also worry every day about our parents! Any day could be the day that one of them or both of them might be consumed by a Tomogara, despite the measures taken to ensure that they're safe from harm! I haven't lost my family yet, but worrying of that fateful day possibly being closer to happening is repetitively torturous!"

Pheles flinched while Yuji was trying to calm himself down from the outburst. The Mystes wasn't one to suddenly let raw emotion get the best of him but being belittled by the Guze Queen had no doubtingly pulled that trigger.

"My apologies about that. I hate cutting this short but I have to head back to class." Yuji replied, leaving Pheles on the roof.

The Guze Queen sighed to herself at her apparent belittling of the Mystes, misjudging him to be a naïve fool when he was completely the opposite. During the conversation, she could see Yuji's piercing blue eyes that showed a loss of innocence, a trait found among those hardened by the harsh realities of war. Perhaps she had judged him too hastily.

"I'll have to see where he lives." Pheles muttered to herself before laying down on the rooftop, looking into the sky, waiting for the school day to end in order to stalk to Yuji to his home, unaware that the youth's ability to Shadow-Walk allowed him to escape her undetected.

IIIIII:::::IIIIII

In the seclusion provided by the large trees in the backyard of the Sakai household, Chigusa and Leanan-sidhe sat on the grass in a meditative trance with Yukari, who was also explaining about Quintessence.

"Quintessence or Aether is the fifth element that fills everything above the Earth and into the universal cosmos. It is also the raw material for the Mahiru Maigo, the Reiji Maigo, and the Seiren Maigo to create power of existence. Yuji suspects that the former Mystes Johan managed to discover and utilize Quintessence in its true form to a fractional degree but didn't get the chance to explore into the element in depth."

"The ability to wield Quintessence starts from understanding the connections it shares with the elements that compose the cosmos of this universe. Human beings have varying degrees in being able to "sense" the movement of the elements through their minds. The Killing Intent is one example as all forms of intent are not generated from the physical component of the being. They come from the soul, the spiritual manifestation that resides within the physical elements that compose the body. You make the connection between the physical and the ethereal components of your being for a better understanding. From that understanding, you then take the step in applying that to the connection that every individual shares with the overall plane of existence. We are born into this plane of existence and we share a connection to it, giving access to the natural elements that gave us form. Meditation is the path to opening the soul directly to the world without using the physical body as a medium to interact with it."

"Once the soul is opened, one has access to the natural elements potentially without limitation and control. The untamed and rough harnessing of the elements endangers everyone, including the wielder. That is why one must start from the basics in learning to channel and harness them. A new world awaits and running too far into the frontier leaves you fated to be devoured by the wild. Take small steps and slowly let the openness you feel accept a small part of the elements that make the outside world. Wield only manageable fractions of your potential in channeling the elements before advancing on. The blazing warmth of Fire, the cooling breeze of Wind, the rough hardness of Earth, the gentle flow of Water, and the enigmatic darkness of Quintessence, all elements that exist and can be wielded with supernatural consequence."

Both Chigusa and Leanan-sidhe absorbed Yukari's words into their minds as the Mystes of the Seiren Maigo continued to speak.

With a number of Unrestricted Methods powering a ward around and isolating the Sakai residence to prevent interruptions, none of the young women sensed the arrival of two low level Tomogara and a Guze no Ou in Misaki or the fact that a battle was being waged at that very moment.

IIII::::IIII

The chains intertwining around the creeping vines of the Cradle Garden flared and Yutaro, having been hindered from moving, managed to break free before slashing the vines to ribbons.

'So much for a quiet day.' Yutaro thought to himself, wondering on the odds of starting a fight outside a café against a pair of Tomogara he happened to encounter after school. The Cradle Garden sure had him at a disadvantage first, though he avoided getting tangled in the vines that were present.

"Impressive but your luck can only take you so far." Tirael remarked before turning to Sorath. "You can destroy this Mystes if you want. I want to see what kind of Hougu he has."

Sorath nodded before turning to face Yutaro, who placed the Rensen away before waving his arms around in a series of circular motions at different angles and orientation to his body.

'So far, the only thing he can do is annoy the hell out of me with the Blutsauger's effect. Good thing the Mahiru Maigo works miracles in recharging and allowing me to regenerate.' Yutaro thought to himself before shouting. "Sorath! Tirael! Your kissing techniques suck so badly that it's hard to tell whether you're actually kissing or eating each other!"

The remark caused the Aizen siblings to blush rather profusely, though Tirael glared at the insulting jab.

"How dare you! Brother, destroy him!" Tirael yelled and Sorath could only see red as he charged at Yutaro, who quickly braced himself. The blond Tomogara boy swung the Blutsauger down at Yutaro, who caught the blade in his hands. Immediately, the Hougu lashed out at him. Yet, the Mystes had utilized the principle of the Qiankun Danuoyi to not only deflect the attack but to also turn the Blutsauger's effect against Sorath, who cried out as multiple slash marks erupted all over his body and he lost his grip on the Blutsauger.

"Brother!" Tirael cried out.

"How about I help you two really tie the knot?!" Yutaro taunted as he threw the Blutusager at Tirael, slicing off her left arm completely, before summoning the Rensen and sent both sickles into the ground. Multiple chains materialized and shot out from the ground at the Aizen siblings, ensnaring them tightly as Yutaro, engulfed in fire, executed the Rensen's Unrestricted Method Midaregami. The chains exploded around both Tomogara, who cried out amid being engulfed. To Yutaro's dismay, the Aizen siblings emerged from the explosion on a floating flower bulb, still alive but not unscathed. Tirael was clutching her left shoulder in an attempt to regenerate her left arm while Sorath managed to recover the Blutsauger.

"What?!" Tirael exclaimed in her communication link to her contact. "If the Flame Haze isn't the main culprit, then who is taking out the other Pinions?!"

"The Interpreter of Condolences is running interference and distracting attention." a masculine voice replied from the other end of Tirael's communication link.

"Then find the person responsible and kill him or her! We can't afford for the Cradle Garden to melt!" Tirael ordered as she and Sorath withdrew, no doubtingly heading towards the bridge.

"Get the hell back here! I'm not done with you two yet!" Yutaro shouted as he took flight after them.

IIIII::::IIIII

It seemed like a good plan to Yuji. First, scout the locations of the stationary Pinions used to power the Cradle Garden. Then, give some of the locations to Margery, who would run as a distracting force by openly destroying them to draw attention. Finally, that would leave Yuji to take out the rest of the Pinions in the shadows.

So far, it worked in drawing the attention of the Aizen siblings such that they had their hired gun, Sydonay, to take action and the Thousand Changes went after Margery, unaware that she was the apparent noisemaker rather than the true threat. This gave Yuji enough time to eradicate the remaining Pinions so that the Orgue can now be targeted.

"Yuji!" a feminine voice erupted from his bookmark. "Sydonay is on to your plan!"

"That's fine. All of the other Pinions are destroyed." Yuji replied. "Where are you at?"

"On the bridge." Margery replied.

Placing the bookmark away, Yuji took a deep breath and Shadow-Walked from his location before emerging behind one of the support columns to see Margery's combat form fighting a large chimera. Both were locking claws against each other and it looked as if the chimera's size gave it the advantage in power.

Summoning the Rotational Edge, Yuji threw his weapon at the chimera's left wing, slicing it off cleanly that it spewed blazing olive-green embers. The Rotational Edge, flying like a boomerang, returned back to Yuji, who caught the handle before hiding behind the column.

The chimera that was the Thousand Changes roared in pain and Margery, seeing an opportunity, broke contact before blasting Sydonay with a burst of cobalt fire at point-blank range. While the attack had inflicting such high damage to Sydonay, who reverted to his human form, Margery had used too much power into her attack that she fell to her knees, her combat form fading completely.

"Well, my dear, that was an invigorating experience." Sydonay remarked as he summoned the Shintetu Nyoi. "But all good things must come to an end."

As the Thousand Changes raised his arm to throw his weapon at the Interpreter of Condolences, his instincts alerted him to the sudden killing intent behind him that he leapt high into the air, barely evading the low swing that would have cut his legs underneath him. Landing a good distance away, Sydonay caught sight of a young boy in street clothing and wielding a large chainsaw sword. The youth was neither a Tomogara nor a Flame Haze.

"Are you a Mystes?" Sydonay inquired.

"Congratulations. Here's your prize!" Yuji replied as he summoned and threw a blue fireball into the air. The moment it vanished into the air, a hail of blue fireballs rained down on Sydonay, who shielded himself from the barrage.

"I don't know what's inside but I'll be taking it." Sydonay spoke the moment the barrage ended.

"Well, you're going to have to make that happen." Yuji replied, summoning a large sledgehammer-shaped Hougu called the Rukt and attaching its handle end to the handle end of the Rotational Edge that he formed a long halberd from the union. With that, he charged at Sydonay, who grappled against Yuji before finding himself on the defensive against the Mystes's assault.

From the top of the bridge column, Pheles watched the battle between Sydonay and Yuji with complete surprise itched on her expression. The youth was moving fast with an agile gracefulness while wielding his choice of weapon without difficulty, causing the Guze Queen to wonder on who had trained the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo.

Pheles tensed a bit as she watched Sydonay counterattack and successfully disarmed Yuji of his weapon. She was about to intervene to prevent the Thousand Changes from taking the Reiji Maigo when Yuji, crossing his arms into an X over his chest, suddenly engulfed himself in a flaming ball before shooting upwards, slamming Sydonay into the air. In the air, Yuji then swiped his arms outward, forming a cross shape of his form and the flaming ball exploded, blasting and scorching Sydonay as he plummeted into the river.

Yuji, having blasted Sydonay with the Unrestricted Method Aces High, landed on the bridge before seeing Margery leaning against a flipped over truck.

"How is she?" Yuji asked, staring at the Grimoire that housed Marcosius.

"Margery is exhausted and I doubt she'll be able to leave any time soon." Marcosius replied.

"Sydonay took a lot out of me." Margery added. "He'll be recuperating and getting ready to attack any second now. I doubt you'll be able to fight him in his combat forms."

"Let me worry about him. How about I Shadow-Walk you back to Keisaku's house if you don't mind?" Yuji offered.

"Fine." Margery replied, placing her arm around Yuji, as though to use him as a support while pulling herself onto her aching legs that were unable to help her walk. The Mystes blushed a bit the moment he felt Margery's ample bosom pressing against the side of his back but he brushed the lewd thoughts aside. Approaching a shadowed section near the overturned truck, the three vanished into the darkness.

From where she was standing, Pheles narrowed her eyes a bit, feeling strangely agitated in seeing someone like Margery have her arm around Yuji. She could also sense a brief moment in which the Mystes had some perverted thoughts flash through his mind in regards to indirectly feeling up Margery and the Guze Queen could only shake her head. Even though she didn't like Yuji, Pheles didn't like the idea of any female being too close to the Mystes for some unexplained reason.

'What the heck am I thinking?' the Guze Queen thought to herself.

A few seconds after she saw Margery and Yuji vanished, the Guze Queen noticed Yuji reappearing from the shadows and, at the same time, a large flower bulb appeared with the Aizen siblings on it. Right behind them was none other than Yuji's elder twin Yutaro.

"Bro! Up here!" Yutaro called out and Yuji flew up to meet his elder twin. Both of them landed on top of the bridge's highest point on one side while the Aizen siblings landed on the other side. At the center was a music box Hougu that continued to play.

"So this is the center of the Cradle Garden." Yuji spoke.

"Indeed." Tirael replied. "No matter the complication of any spell, once inserted, the Orgue will continue to be played over and over in a repetitive cycle."

"You'll pay for hindering me from finding the Nietono no Shana!" Sorath spoke.

"The moment you both decided to come to this city and eat humans, your death sentences were decided." Yuji replied before catching sight of Sydonay emerging from below the river and landing next to the Aizen siblings.

"I shouldn't have underestimated this Mystes." the Thousand Changes spoke before catching sight of Yutaro. "I see there are two. Perhaps you both can find some compensation for the trouble they caused you."

"That would be wonderful." Tirael replied before looking at Sorath. "Go on ahead, dear brother. Kill the one that sliced off my arm."

With that, Sorath charged forth at Yutaro while Sydonay and Yuji took their fight into the air.

Yutaro evaded the incoming strikes from Sorath's Blutsauger, wanting to wear the Tomogara out. After several minutes of evasion, Yutaro paused as Sorath delivered an upward strike. At the last possible second, Yutaro evaded before spinning around him and impaling the Tomogara in the back of the head with the bladed sickle of the Rensen. Sorath lost his grip on the Blutsauger, which flew upwards and behind him before landing on the Orgue. The huge sword shattered the Hougu, completely destroying it that Tirael was in shock at the odds of such a scenario happening. The Mystes then swing the other sickle at Tirael, the blade slicing through her left shoulder and out of her ribs before she could even sense the danger.

'Maybe now, their next lives won't have any incest.' Yutaro replied, watching both of the Aizen siblings disintegrate into embers.

Sydonay and Yuji continued to fight in the air, this time without their weapons though Sydonay simply turned his arms into beat-like limbs with claws. Yuji, summoning the dark energies of Quintessence and channeling it through his form, managed to deflect his foe's strikes while giving some space away. Swinging his arms from different angles to his center in a variety of circular motions, Yuji focused both power of existence and Quintessence together before unleashing it at Sydonay, who was closing in for the kill strike. The blast caught the Thousand Changes by surprise, ripping through his midsection such that he had a large gapping hole as he plummeted back into the river.

'With the Aizens gone, it looks like I'll have to retreat for now.' Sydonay thought to himself, turning into a sea snake and swimming off out of sight. The Thousand Changes didn't completely withdraw as he decided to linger around and it was this decision that he gave him something valuable to see.

He noticed Yuji hovering high in the sky and, a second later, power of existence was flowing out the Mystes to repair all of the damage under the Fuzetsu. For a split second, Sydonay caught sight of a familiar Hougu within Yuji and it was all that he needed before he vanished.

"Well, that was a rather interesting battle." Yuji remarked as he and Yutaro were walking across the bridge a few minutes later after all the repairs were done and the Fuzetsu had been dispelled.

"They were looking for the Nietono no Shana, a flaming sword of sorts." Yutaro replied. "I can't believe the number of people they devoured. The Aizens are confirmed dead but what about their bodyguard Sydonay?"

"He fell into the river and didn't get back up." Yuji replied. "Sydonay has probably retreated for now."

As they entered the suburbs, Yuji stopped as he caught sight of Pheles, who was leaning against a nearby wall. The Guze Queen caught sight of Yuji before walking over and slapping him across the face before walking away without a word. Yutaro noticed that the expression of the Beautiful Whim matched the expression of a girl that had just caught her boyfriend cheating on her.

'Can it be that Pheles is…' Yutaro thought to himself, speculating on things between the Guze Queen and his younger twin.

Despite getting slapped, Yuji was rather confused instead of angry. "I wonder what that was for."

"The question is what did you do to her?" Yutaro asked.

"I really don't know." Yuji replied, wondering on what Pheles seemed angry about to slap him like that.

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Read and review.

For this chapter and probably in the next two, I've divided the Quintessence issue. Here, the philosophical component is explained and Yukari is taking the lead in getting Chigusa and Leanan-sidhe to learn and train themselves to use Quintessence in the war of existence.


	7. From the Shore to the Ocean

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

Take a guess on what movie, which I also don't own, inspired this chapter and the next chapter or two.

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Seireiden…

"So the Reiji Maigo has resurfaced?" Bel Peol asked.

"Indeed. There's no mistake that the Mystes I fought had the Reiji Maigo within him." Sydonay replied. "Yet, I've never come across a single Mystes that can fight so well, let alone two."

Bel Peol chuckled a bit. "Well, then. Perhaps this will be a challenge to look forward to."

Behind them, Hecate remained silent, though the mention of Sydonay being bested by a mere Mystes seemed to perk a slight interest on the subject.

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After school and at the secret warehouse's underground complex, four individuals were at work as Yutaro, Leanan-sidhe, Yuji, and Yukari were stirring settling tanks of alcoholic broth.

"I probably should've asked you for tips on how to negotiate with the French." Yutaro remarked. "Damn bastards tried to arrest us for being underage."

"Most effective would be to beat the hell out of them." Leanan-sidhe replied. "Or ruin their egos and pride with some pranks."

"I don't know if it would be wise to do that in the middle of negotiations." Yuji spoke. "We could lose some customers there, especially in Paris. Heck, we might end up starting a fight that'll spiral out of control."

"So what?! You're dealing with businessmen that are FRENCH!" Leanan-sidhe stated with a bit dramatics by waving her arms. "They'll do what they always do when they start a fight, let alone a war. LOSE AND THEN SURRENDER!"

"Or wait to get their hides handed to them." Yukari added. "Besides in a country like that, they take romance to levels that give them a reputation regarding sex and certain fetishes. Heck, a lot of dress attires used for eroticism come from that country. An example is the French maid outfit."

"Too true." Yutaro replied, thinking about a very beautiful painting that he made of Leanan-sidhe wearing a French maid outfit. Suffice to say, he kept it decent enough that the Guze Queen glomped him to an inch of his life when she first saw it. "We could also thank them for the French fries too."

"That came from Belgium actually." Leanan-sidhe spoke. "The only reason they earned the name was because the Belgium army spoke French during WWI and the Americans were first introduced to them. I could blame McDonalds for giving them a bad reputation in causing the obesity crisis in the U.S. today."

"They could just send the fat people up to Alaska." Yutaro remarked. "That way, the cold temperatures can force an increase in metabolism for them just to stay warm and they'll trim down."

"True, but Alaska is known to have the highest molestation and rape rates among the fifty states." Yuji replied. "Yet considering the geographical location, the Alaskans sure find illicit ways to keep WARM."

Yutaro coughed a bit, though it was more like he was trying to stifle his laughter at his younger twin's remark before replying. "Well, I guess we'll have to keep away from Alaskan seafood as I certainly have doubts now about the Alaskans have CLEAN hands to handle the job."

Now it was Yuji's turn to avoid laughing at his elder twin's remark but the Mystes failed miserably.

"Good one, bro!" Yuji remarked, high-fiving Yutaro.

"Boys." Yukari muttered while rolling her eyes, thinking that her brothers would make bad comedians.

"I'm forced to agree with you that they have such stale humor when trying to outdo each other." Leanan-sidhe whispered.

The cell phone at the desk went off and Yutaro stopped stirring before going over to answer it.

"Hello." Yutaro spoke. "Hey, Danielle. How's it going?"

"Everything's fine. Yuji and Yukari send their regards." Yutaro replied before his face turned a bit serious.

"What seems to be the problem?" he asked before nearly choking a minute later.

"What?! Are you serious?!" Yutaro asked incredulously before calming down.

"No, it's not too much trouble. It's a Thursday over here but the three of us don't have school anyways from here on out so time isn't an issue. If we're there, it'll make it a bit easier with the extra personnel."

"Yeah, we'll be in route. See you then." Yutaro spoke a minute later before hanging up.

"Who's Danielle?" Leanan-sidhe asked narrowly with a slight hint of jealously in her tone.

"And what did she want?" Yuji added.

"Danielle Ocean is a friend of ours in the U.S. and her family owns the Caesar Palace and Wynn casinos in the Las Vegas Strip. Also, her father, Harrison, is friends with Kantaro, both of them having met and done business in New York Stock Exchange. Danielle was the one that allowed us to sell a good portion of our products at both establishments and so many rich customers have been coming in such a high influx since then." Yutaro replied. "She called because this arrogant businessman, Franklin Delacour, is trying to muscle her folks out in order to buy out the Caesar Palace and the Wynn. Now she's asking for our help."

Leanan-sidhe relaxed, relieved that Danielle Ocean isn't in a close relationship of sorts with Yutaro.

"What kind of help does she need from us?" Yukari asked.

"The one that has the chance of putting us in jail for twenty to thirty years, that is if we aren't extradited back to Japan. The kind that Mom wouldn't approve of but Dad is already it and Danielle relayed his request that we bring Mom along." Yutaro replied. "Let's finish up and then head back."

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Margery slowly woke up to find herself lying on the couch.

"It's about time you woke up." Keisaku spoke while reading a magazine.

"How long have I been out?" Margery asked.

"Three hours. Sakai Yuji left a gift by the way just a few minutes ago." Keisaku replied before pointing to a basket that had four bottles of wine that dated back to 1234 A.D. Beside it was a note.

_Dear Margery,_

_Tomorrow, my family and I are heading out to the U.S. and will be gone until next week on Monday. I was hoping to ask a favor from you during the time we're overseas. Since we'll be gone, it's just to look after the city in our absence. I hope it's not too difficult a task._

_Yuji_

Margery smiled, knowing that the request wasn't a difficult one. The Sakai household supplied her with drink and the Flame Haze felt a bit indebted to refuse a request.

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That evening at the Sakai household…

"So Kantaro is already into this unknown operation that you're not going to tell me about?" Chigusa asked calmly after Yutaro explained to his mother on what was going on and the news of Kantaro's involvement in some shady operation.

"Yeah and I volunteered myself along with Yukari and Yuji." Yutaro replied uneasily. "Of course, Leanan-sidhe is coming along and Dad wanted you to come with us as well."

"Hold on a second." Chigusa spoke calmly. "So you four are heading overseas to the United States and Kantaro wants me to come along? For what? Tell me what is it that you four and Kantaro are up to."

Yutaro looked at Yuji and Yuji looked at Yukari, who sighed at the fact that her two brothers were wimps in front of their cheerful and calm mother.

"Well, we all volunteered to help rob the vaults of the Bellagio, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand, three casinos owned by Franklin Delacour." Yukari replied with hesitation.

If Chigusa was shocked, she didn't try to show it, though her eyes were rather wide with surprise and her face was pale before the blackness greeted her vision.

As Yuji, Yutaro, Yukari, and Leanan-sidhe went to check on Chigusa, who fainted from shock, the Spiral Organ muttered. "Well, it could've gone better."

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Pheles felt a bit guilty about slapping Yuji yesterday but seeing him that close with Margery or any other girl made her jealous and it wasn't because he had the Reiji Maigo. Throughout the whole evening, The Beautiful Whim thought about her observations in regards to the new Mystes of the Reiji Maigo. Yuji got along well with people at his school and showed a kindness that reminded her so much of Johan. It was a contrast to his uncouth demeanor when she encountered him but then again, Pheles remembered that she tried to take the Reiji Maigo from him by force.

Though she wasn't going to apologize, the Guze Queen had the intention of talking to the Mystes, saying that they got off to a wrong start on things and she had no desire for hostility between them.

Towards the end of the morning, Pheles was in route to the Sakai household to talk to Yuji when she detected the presence of a Flame Haze near the vicinity. In addition, she couldn't sense the Reiji Maigo's presence or the presence of the other two Mystes, whose Hougus remained unknown to her.

"Looking for Yuji?" a feminine voice called out and Pheles looked to see Margery Daw at the front gate to the Sakai residence.

"Yes, I'm looking for him." Pheles replied.

"Well, you're six hours late because he's gone and won't be back until next week." Margery replied.

Pheles was astonished and slightly angry before asking. "Since you seem very close to him, I suppose you know where he went?"

"I wouldn't say very close." Margery replied as she looked at the Sakai house, which was under lockdown by several complex Unrestricted Methods. "As for where he is, Yuji is in route to Las Vegas."

"Las Vegas?!" Pheles quipped in surprise as the mental image of Yuji wooing girls and being a ladies' man flashed through her mind. At the moment, she felt more inclined to beat the Mystes up. _'Oh, he's going to pay for that!'_

"Yeah. I just hope he'll take me up on my offer in spending some quality time alone with me and not go after those tarts in Las Vegas." Margery replied before turning to see Pheles flying off at breakneck speed into the sky and out of sight.

"Hmm… maybe I shouldn't said anything." The Interpreter of Condolences muttered.

"Heh, but then again, she would've drilled you for information anyways." Marcosius replied.

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Yutaro, Yuji, and Yukari emerged from the dark depths of the parking garage corridors near the Wynn with Leanan-sidhe and Chigusa in tow after Shadow-walking from Misaki to Las Vegas.

"Good to see all of you made it safe and sound." a masculine voice spoke, catching their attention as the group saw Kantaro Sakai leaning against a wall.

Chigusa smiled as she and the others approached Kantaro. But the moment she was close to her husband, the young housewife grabbed his neck with both hands before choking him.

"What in the world were you thinking, dear?" Chigusa inquired, smiling while shaking Kantaro as she tried to strangle him.

"Well, you know that I have some investments at the Caesar Palace and Wynn so I can't afford to lose them." Kantaro replied as he tried to calm Chigusa.

"Anyways, let's just meet up with Danielle because it's not safe to talk out here." Yukari spoke.

"Agreed." Kantaro replied as Chigusa let go before he noticed Leanan-sidhe.

"And may I ask who this fine young lady is?" Kantaro inquired.

Leanan-sidhe smiled while clinging to Yutaro's arm. "I am Leanan-sidhe, the Spiral Organ."

"She's been living with us in the past few days." Yukari added.

"Please to meet you, Miss Leanan." Kantaro replied. "Has my son been well-mannered?"

"Oh yes." Leanan-sidhe replied as she rested her head on Yutaro's shoulder, causing the Mystes to blush at the Guze Queen's affectionate display.

A few minutes later, in a private suite…

Danielle Ocean was a young blond-haired nineteen-year old dressed in black and blue clothing. As the third child and sole daughter of the Ocean family, Danielle held some power in regards to the casinos that her family owns, even though her two older brothers were managing the Caesar Palace and the Wynn respectively. On the many trips that Yuji, Yutaro, and Yukari made to Las Vegas, the three chiefly sold their wine products to Danielle, who then had them served. It was a very good business relationship has the Caesar Palace and the Wynn sported what most of the customers remarked to be the best wines in all the world.

Recently, Franklin Delacour had been profiting well from some oversea investments such that he was attempting to buy the Caesar Palace and the Wynn from Harrison Ocean. When Harrison refused, Franklin resorted to muscling him out of business via unethical practices, both subtle and sometimes out in the open. Profits from the Caesar and the Wynn had dropped significantly as a result and the Ocean family was tensed by Franklin's actions.

"So anyways, both of your brothers are planning to operate jobs with their respective crews at the MGM and the Mirage. Both of your parents have their own group to ruin the grand opening of the Franklin's new establishment, the Midas Paradise casino." Leanan-sidhe was saying. "Since no one else could spare personnel for your crew, you called Yutaro for help on the Bellagio."

"Yes." Danielle replied. "Kantaro has been helping some of my associates in the reconnaissance at the Bellagio in the past five days while the others made preparations."

"I see." Chigusa spoke calmly while smiling at Kantaro, who became rather nervous at his wife's dark aura.

"Anyways, Kantaro's information is top-notch, a reason why I needed his help." Danielle continued. "Since there's only three days before the Sunday Fight Night left before we all make simultaneous strikes, we'll use the time to bring you all up to scratch. Are you all in?"

Seeing affirmative nods from Yutaro, Yuji, Yukari, Leanan-sidhe, Chigusa, and Kantaro nodded, Danielle smiled. "Thank you all. Let's make sure this goes well."

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In a private suite, Kantaro and Chigusa laid next to each other as they thought about the overall plan.

"You know. This is the first time that I've ever agreed to something like this." Chigusa remarked.

"I'm sorry if this all came as a shock to you." Kantaro replied. "I was surprised you decided to take part in this."

Chigusa smiled. "Well, I can't let you get into unnecessary trouble but you'll have to make some serious amends when we get back home."

Kantaro smiled as he leaned over and kissed Chigusa's cheek. "Money isn't the issue on why I took part, even though Danielle is giving us a percentage out of the haul. Franklin Delacour is a rather arrogant French businessman, who enjoys ruining people's livelihoods out of sheer entertainment and believes the world revolves around his whims."

Chigusa returned to the kiss. "I hope that EMP Pinch doesn't fry Las Vegas permanently. We certainly are breaking the laws regarding EMP weapons. But tell me how they managed to get their hands on one."

"Uh… well." Kantaro tried to speak as he thought about the raid that he took part in along with Harrison and his wife Guinevere when they broke into an engineering research facility on the campus of the California Institute of Technology.

Detecting the nervousness in Kantaro's voice, Chigusa rounded on her husband, asking with a big smile. "I take it that you committed burglary to steal an EMP Pinch?"

Once more, Kantaro knew that it was going to be a long night as he was having second thoughts about Chigusa knowing about this heist, let alone taking part in it.

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Yukari smiled as she watched Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe sat on the balcony of the suite reserved for them along with Yuji and her before closing the door, joining Yuji in the hallway.

"I'll wager ten Euros that they'll be sleeping in separate beds by the time any of us get back." Yuji offered.

"Twenty Euros if they sleep in the same bed." Yukari replied. "Elder brother and Leanan are progressing well together."

"Okay, twenty then." Yuji spoke with agreement. "We'll see if that's true."

"Well, I'll be at Danielle's suite to help further preparations for the Bellagio operation." Yukari replied as she walked down the hall while Yuji headed to the roof.

Reaching the top, the Mystes looked out at the sight of Las Vegas aka America's playground. The Reiji Maigo had replenished his power of existence while he was in transit via Shadow-walking from Misaki to Las Vegas, leaving to wonder if the next recharge period would come sooner than expected.

The sudden gust of wind kicked up around Yuji, who quickly darted away from the spot amid sensing power of existence in the current.

"YUJI!" a feminine voice screamed and Yuji looked to see none other than a very angry Pheles, who resembled a goddess of destruction that had descended from the Heavens.

"How the heck did you get here that fast?!" Yuji quipped.

"Ponder that in Hell!" Pheles replied as an amber Fuzetsu activated and the Guze Queen attacked Yuji.

"What the heck has gotten into you?!" Yuji inquired as he evaded Pheles's strikes, which was difficult and saying that the Guze Queen was in a hormonal rage would have been an understatement.

"DIE, YOU INGRATE! PLAYBOY! WOMANIZER!" Pheles screamed with rage as her strikes were slowly improving on accuracy.

Yuji, now barely managing to evade Pheles's physical and long-range attacks, realized the implications of her accusations before finding himself in the winds of the Inbelna, which concealed the Guze Queen's presence.

'Yukari said that a girl would yell that kind of stuff out of jealously.' Yuji thought before a thought reached his mind. 'It can't be. Pheles can't be feeling that way about me.'

Amid his random zigzag flying within the cyclonic eye of the Inbelna storm, Yuji managed to maintain an air of unpredictability, which unfortunately made Pheles more frustrated and angry as she couldn't land a blow on her target along with the fact she was wasting energy and power of existence to do so. Getting to the U.S. from Japan had taken a lot of power of existence out of the Guze Queen, who was fighting with only rage fueling her.

Unable to maintain the Inbelna after five minutes, Pheles dispelled the Unrestricted Method before landing on the rooftop in exhaustion while Yuji landed a good distance from her.

"Why are trying to kill me?" Yuji asked.

Pheles raised her head, the expression on her face filled with rage. Yuji noticed that the edges of her eyes had tears.

"Shut up! You know…why!" Pheles screamed, almost close to crying before collapsing on her knees. Yuji, allowing concern to cloud his judgment, ran to Pheles to see if she was alright.

"Don't touch me!" Pheles snapped as she tried to summon a wind to blow Yuji away but failed as her power of existence level was dangerously close to running out.

"You keep trying to attack me even though you're going to kill yourself." Yuji replied before a thought came to his mind. Power of existence transfers have been done but physical contact tended to make it easier. The more intimate the contact, the more power of existence ends up being transferred at a faster rate. Knowing that Pheles was mentally close to self-destructing, Yuji somewhat blanched at what he must do.

"I'm really, really sorry for what I'm about to do. But I'd rather see you angry and alive than to see you die in front of me such that I'd feel guilty for a long time for not doing anything. So I'm really sorry about this." Yuji spoke apologetically.

Grabbing Pheles by the shoulders and pulling her to her feet, Yuji took advantage of her weakened condition and kissed the Guze Queen. It was a deep kiss as he sent a massive amount of power of existence into her and Yuji even went further by turning it into a French kiss with emotion, though it was a reenactment of a scene he once saw in a romance movie.

The Beautiful Whim was completely petrified and thoroughly shocked of being kissed by the Mystes she was trying harm. Her rage was completely gone now, replaced by a calm and refreshing clearness in her mind. At the same time, Pheles felt every sensation in her body ignite wildly beyond their capacity to such pleasurable levels and she felt herself becoming very aroused and hot from just Yuji's kiss alone.

'Not even Johan's kisses could do something like this.' the Guze Queen thought to herself as she could only enjoy the kiss from the Mystes.

The few moments of inactivity from Pheles was enough time for Yuji to quickly break his kissing the Guze Queen before making a hasty retreat.

'Maybe I shouldn't badmouth the French.' Yuji thought to himself before catching sight of Yukari in the hallway.

"Did you sense the Fuzetsu?" Yuji asked.

"Yeah, but seeing the amber color was obvious so I left it as your business." Yukari replied. "I think Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe also did the same."

"Speaking of Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe, ready to pay up?" Yuji asked.

"Only if you are." Yukari replied before both Mystes opened the door.

Suffice to say, Yukari went to sleep in the adjacent bed twenty Euros richer while Yuji grumbled a bit about Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe turning fate against him before heading onto the balcony and taking off into the night sky, flying to clear his mind.

"Hey wait!" a feminine voice called out and Yuji turned to see Pheles approaching him. Despite seeing a calm and slightly content expression on her face, the Mystes was still uneasy of her presence.

'Mood-swinger.' Yuji thought to himself before saying. "Go on and hack me to pieces for that kiss."

Pheles blushed a bit as she shook her head. "No, I'm not going to harm you because of that kiss. I lost my temper and jumped to conclusions without asking why you were here. Hours earlier, I was heading to your residence when Margery told me that you left and came here."

"I left a note asking that she look after Misaki while my family and I are here." Yuji replied. "Don't apologize. Just be yourself. Still, I just hope we can get along from here on out."

The Guze Queen nodded.

"In any case, I think you already know that my name is Sakai Yuji and that I'm the second Mystes of the Reiji Maigo." Yuji spoke.

"I don't know how you knew my identity but I'm Pheles, the Beautiful Whim." Pheles replied. "I do want to know why you and your family are here."

"Well, I can't refuse you since you did have a major part in the creation of the Reiji Maigo." Yuji replied. "How about we fly far from the city where people can't hear what I'm about to tell you?"

Pheles smiled before replying. "Oui."

As they took off, a transparent spirit watched from the heavens.

"It'll be a while before you fall in love again, Pheles." The ghost of Johan remarked. "Yuji, I leave her with you. Take care of her for my sake."

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Well, read and review.


	8. Treading the Waters a Bit

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

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Kantaro, dressed in regular business attire, and Chigusa, wearing the normal attire of a simple housewife, were currently in the living room of the mansion on the Ocean Manor. Both husband and wife had woke up before the morning sun rose and took a taxi to the Ocean Manor, which Kantaro had a 5:30 AM appointment to keep.

The Sakai couple wasn't alone as the Ocean couple was also present. Harrison Ocean, garbed in street clothing, was a forty-five year old man with gray hair and a slightly solid build while Guinevere Ocean nee Lamperouge, wearing a regular dress, was a thirty-nine year old woman with raven hair and a slim build.

On the table were laptop computers and documents pertaining to information on security details, structural blueprints, and various notes in regards to the planned heists on the MGM Grand, the Mirage, and the Bellagio. In addition to the heists were plans to crash the grand opening of the Midas Palace by rigging the slot machines and gambling tables to payout more frequently in order to bankrupt the establishment.

"The losses from the Bellagio, the MGM Grand, the Mirage, and the Midas Palace will severely break Delacour's holdings in North America, forcing him back to Europe with what he has left." Harrison was saying. "The raids on the three casinos are being handled by our children while Guinevere and I along with our seven associates carrying out the operation at the Midas Palace in different roles. But we need extra cover on the casino floors, which is where you both come in."

"Alright, what do Chigusa and I have to do?" Kantaro asked.

"Well, you both are going to dress up as a fairly rich couple and accompany Harrison and I." Guinevere replied. "Karl and Damon are taking the roles as maintenance workers to foul up the hotel rooms and to drive out the players out of the casinos with some controlled mass chaos after the designated time period of the massive payout. Eli, Issac, and Gordon are taking computer roles to give us the needed combinations needed to trigger the trapdoors at the slot machines. Trent and Keith are working as dealers for blackjack and roulette respectively once the rigged blackjack card shuffler units are placed and activated. Cassandra and her husband Frederick will be gambling on the floor so they'll be joining us. That leaves the four of us to gamble at the tables that Trent and Keith aren't working at. In addition to gambling at the tables, we'll be getting information on the coin combinations from Eli, Issac, and Gordon in order to set up the slot machines to pay out."

"So three married couples will be on the casino floors?" Chigusa asked.

"Yes, to gamble and to set up as many slot machines as possible to payout to other unsuspecting gamblers." Harrison replied. "We'll only be taking the winnings from the gambling tables as spoils. I've already gave $250,000 total to Cassandra and Frederick along with the needed equipment to rig the outcomes at the roulette tables in order for them to proceed with their roles in the plan. Therefore, I'll also give you the same package as I did them but with the cheating gadgets for the Craps tables. Kantaro, you and I are running them while Cassandra and Chigusa shield our hands with their presences."

"Alright, but I'll need some time with those gadgets just in case." Kantaro replied.

"Still need practice?" Guinevere asked.

"Just the timing of the loaded dice." Kantaro replied. "Even though you both will be joining us at the same craps table, the chance of losing, no matter how small, lingers. More practice wouldn't hurt."

"That's fine." Guinevere replied. "We have the time. Chigusa, how about you and I head to the garden? We can talk there while they're practicing."

"Ara, of course." Chigusa replied.

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The early rays of sunlight of the morning found Yuji sitting on the bed in the solitude of his room in the suite that he was sharing with Yutaro, Yukari, and Leanan-sidhe. Well, more like lying in it as he nursed his left ear. Next to him on the left, Yukari was sitting in a chair, reading a book.

"Somehow I probably shouldn't have said anything to Pheles." he muttered to himself.

"Due to Johan, Pheles has somewhat changed to a better person." Yukari replied. "I take it she obviously didn't like what you were getting into?"

"She didn't and that's the reason for my left ear is hurting like hell." Yuji replied, remembering on how Pheles had pinched his ear real hard and shook him back and forth after he told her about taking part in an operation to rob the Bellagio vault.

"Too bad you missed her reactions when I mentioned our adventures while you were asleep." Yukari replied. "By the way, did you really kiss her on the rooftop?"

Yuji blushed a bit before nodding. "I didn't want her to die from loosing so much power of existence when she went ballistic at me for a misunderstanding so I did what I thought was needed. Why would Pheles ask if she knew that I didn't want her to die?"

"I just wanted to confirm as it didn't seem like anything you would do off the bat unless there was some circumstance." Yukari giggled before the door to one of the two other bedrooms opened and Pheles entered.

"Finally awake, Yuji?" Pheles inquired as she sat on the right of the bed.

"I couldn't sleep well after what you did to my ear." Yuji replied.

"Good." the Guze Queen replied. "Anyways, Yukari filled me in on what your friend Danielle Ocean and her family has planned. Yukari vouched for me and Danielle allowed me into the operation but roles are still being determined."

"I'm sure you'd put all of those casino waitresses to shame. I bet all the men would be pining for you." Yuji replied with amusement, causing Pheles to blush red.

"Flattery will get you nowhere and you better not be insinuating something." The Guze Queen replied in a dangerous tone.

"I have a clean mind." Yuji lied. "But the exit strategy at the Bellagio needs to be different than the SWAT Decoy (1) and the Trojan Horse Combo (2) used at the Mirage and the MGM Grand."

"It's easy if you could just use your abilities of the Guze." Pheles replied.

"Can't because there will be a lot of Flame Hazes in Las Vegas on the night of the robbery." Yukari replied. "I'm surprised that there aren't any last night. You know, I'm surprised none bothers robbing a vault like that."

"Yeah, I noticed that there aren't any Torches, Mystes, or Tomogara presences either. But this morning, a few Flame Hazes have arrived in the city. As long we don't use our powers or cast a Fuzetsu, they'll only know of our normal movements." Yuji spoke. "Besides, the Ocean family doesn't know about the Guze anyways and this is a good way to test ourselves without having to rely on the supernatural abilities."

"And if the raid on the Bellagio does work, what are you going to do with the millions that is allotted to you?" Pheles asked.

"Yutaro, Yukari, Leanan-sidhe, and I aren't keeping our allotted payouts. The incomes made from our bootlegging activities pay out handsomely so we're leaving our cuts with Danielle." Yuji replied. "But of course you could keep yours if you wish."

"No. I'm not intent on keeping stolen capital." Pheles replied, her opinion of Yuji greatly improving as she thought. 'He definitely isn't inspired by greed. Still, I'll have to agree with Yukari that both Yuji and his elder twin brother Yutaro are thrill-seekers in doing something like this.'

"Danielle was surprised and it took a awhile to convince her that our mutual interests have a common ground." Yukari remarked.

"Still, she said that she greatly indebted to us for helping her family." Yuji spoke when an idea spark in his mind. "Hang on, I think Danielle could use this one as an exit strategy, even if it changes the entry operation. Yukari, is she still in her room?"

Yukari nodded and Yuji, still dressed in his street clothing, quickly got up and headed out.

Pheles was about to follow when Yukari stopped her while eyeing the Guze Queen's leather form-fitting attire. "I'm sure passing guys in the hall would love to ogle you while you're wearing that. You may have gotten into the suite without being seen but it won't happen twice."

IIIII::::IIIII

Fifteen minutes later…

Pheles, wearing Johan's trenchcoat that concealed her figure and her form-fitting leather attire decently, stood next to Yukari, who was wearing a simple blouse and skirt. Both the Beautiful Whim and the Mystes of the Seiren Maigo had looks of surprise in their expressions as did Danielle once Yuji finished detailing his plan.

"That might actually work but it will require a whole new operation plan." Danielle spoke with amazement in her voice.

"Well, considering what the Bellagio blueprints have to offer plus the execution of the entry strategy, finding a way out is possible once all factors are considered along with what all the people taking part in the raid are doing." Yuji replied. "Jeffrey and Matthew are taking the roles of ground floor security and room service. Andromeda and you are directing movements and scrambling security feed. Those roles remain. However, Paul and Brian are tasked with filling the ventilation shafts leading to the casino floor with powdered potassium and sodium to cover our escape. Yutaro and I can do some hot-wiring to open the vault doors instead of blowing it up so we'll take the infiltration route. Pheles, Yukari, and Leanan are tasked in sabotaging the waitress uniforms for some wardrobe malfunctions during the chaos. The casino waitresses have a dressing room with their respective lockers in order to change in and out at work."

Clearing his throat, Yuji spoke once more. "We can have a new order of procedures by noon before telling the rest of your associates."

"Alright then, let's see what we can come up with." Danielle replied.

"You'll also have to acquire sodium and potassium crystals." Pheles remarked.

"Noted. Yukari, ask Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe if they're available Saturday night." Yuji spoke. " The four of us plus Pheles are going to acquire the metals."

IIIII::::IIIII

The Thursday and Friday that followed came and gone quietly without trouble.

The Ocean Manor bore witness to Kantaro practicing on the magnetic pulse emitters, which were concealed within ordinary yet fancy lighters that had capping lids, while Harrison rolled the rigged dice. While it didn't difficult for Kantaro to predict the resulting numbers based on the movements of the dice and when to use the emitters to manipulate the results in his favor.

In the garden of the manor, Guinevere was having a conversation with Chigusa over the normal issues that women talk about. In addition, she had several catalogs on evening dresses, giving the young housewife some idea what she might want to wear once the designated night arrived.

In the private suite at the Wynn, Yuji and Danielle recited an overview of their new plan in the presence of her associates, all of whom agreed to the changes in the Bellagio operation before making preparations for their parts in the heist. The same was said for Danielle's elder brothers and their respective crews.

For Pheles, Leanan-sidhe, and Yukari, it wasn't hard for two Guze Queens and a Mystes to gain access to the women's locker room very late on Friday night at the point when the casino activities went down to the lowest point. While the Beautiful Whim had some slight reservations, the aspect of pulling a very mean prank appealed to her old trickster side that she decided to go along with it. Leanan-sidhe wasn't hesitant on the task, considering that being around Yutaro, Yuji, and Yukari had rubbed off of her. As she, Yukari, and Pheles sabotaged the fastenings of the waitress uniforms, Leanan-sidhe quietly studied the design down to the intimate detail. While she wasn't going to steal a rather revealing uniform for herself, it doesn't mean that the Guze Queen wasn't going to memorize the design as she thought about making one and wearing it so that Yutaro could paint a masterpiece of her wearing the attire.

'I think the cosplay has become a rather addicting hobby.' the Spiral Organ thought to herself after she, Pheles, and Yukari left the Bellagio undetected.

IIIII::::IIIII

It was on Saturday that Yuji found a better site to acquire the potassium and sodium metals before he, Yutaro, Yukari, Leanan-sidhe and Pheles went on a road trip to Irvine, California by van. Recent arrival of Flame Hazes into Las Vegas very much had them on guard in concealing their presences to a pinpoint while trying not to attract attention.

**SATURDAY MORNING…**

Yutaro could barely breathe the moment he saw Leanan-sidhe, who had blossomed from a mere sixteen year-old adolescent into a young woman. She was a bit taller with her cute face becoming more womanly while her body was curvaceous, making it difficult for the Mystes of the Mahiru Maigo to focus on her eyes. Even more was that her chest showed significant development. The fact that the Spiral Organ was wearing a sleeveless blouse and skintight black slacks in place of her summer dress made the Guze Queen radiantly beautiful enough to rival Pheles. Yutaro obviously loved Leanan-sidhe but he wondered on what made her take a more adult appearance.

"I…I don't want to say." The Mystes stammered.

"Well, it was Yukari's idea as she wanted to see what I would look like if I was in my early twenties." Leanan-sidhe giggled. "So, do you like me now?"

"Leanan-sidhe. My heart belongs to you and appearances don't merit anything." Yutaro replied before being awarded with a passionate kiss from the Spiral Organ.

"But seriously, was it just Yukari?" the Mystes asked. "I mean, you don't have to impress me with anything as long you're yourself."

"Yes but there's more to that. Of course, the rest is my little secret." Leanan-sidhe replied. While Yukari was a major reason, the other was the fact that Pheles remarked on how underdeveloped she was on Friday night when they were sabotaging the Bellagio waitress uniforms. The Beautiful Whim has obviously noticed the Spiral Organ examining one of the uniforms before making the remark, thus causing the Guze Queen to take the appearance of her young adult self, something she hasn't done since the 16th century.

**SATURDAY EVENING…**

The road trip from Las Vegas to Irvine, California was slightly tense between Leanan-sidhe, who was still in her adult form, and Pheles, who was sitting next to her. Yet, none of them said a word, though their glares spoke volumes. In the back, Yutaro and Yukari watched, hoping that the two wouldn't start a fight. It was like watching two wild tigers ready to kill each other up close. Up front, Yuji could only sigh as he drove the van.

After arriving at the University of California to raid a chemistry facility that housed the potassium and sodium metals in their raw form, Yuji drove the van towards one of the entrances.

After Yutaro and Yuji stepped out of the van, Yukari tried to follow, only to be stopped by Yuji.

"Where are you going?" Yuji asked.

"I'm coming with you both." Yukari replied in confusion.

"No, stay in the van and be prepared to take the wheel just in case." Yuji spoke.

"Oh no! Brother, don't leave me with these two! Aw, damn it!" Yukari protested as Yuji closed the door before joining Yutaro, who picked the lock before gaining entry into the facility.

Yukari sighed as her two brothers entered the facility, leaving her to watch Pheles and Leanan-sidhe. Obviously, the two Guze Queens weren't going to leave the Sakai brothers unattended but both were lenient enough to allow some distance along with being on standby to bail them out just in case.

"You shouldn't have come." Pheles spoke.

"You don't have a reason to come." Leanan-sidhe replied.

"Two words: Reiji Maigo. A better reason than whatever yours is." Pheles countered.

"Here's a four letter acronym for you." Leanan-sidhe replied. "STFU!"

Pheles looked confused. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh God! You really are behind the times." Leanan-sidhe replied, oblivious to the fact that she was swearing openly.

"Behind the times? Heck, your breasts aren't as big as mine." Pheles replied.

Leanan-sidhe blushed a bit at the jab, conceding that her size was 0.2 cm smaller than Pheles's size despite being in her adult form. " Just a difference of 0.2 cm and where the hell did that statement come from?"

"It's just the simple truth." Pheles replied victoriously.

"Simple truth? At least I'm not a cradle-snatcher." Leanan-sidhe countered, knowing on that Pheles met Johan when he was a baby orphan, raised him like a son, and then became his lover for centuries before his untimely death some time ago.

"Give them enough years to become older and no one will know." Pheles replied. "You're no different either."

"Fuck you." Leanan-sidhe replied in exasperation.

"Sure, I'll swing the other way just for you if you beg that is." Pheles replied mockingly yet provocatively, causing Leanan-sidhe to shiver at the implications.

Yukari took a deep breath while ignoring the two Guze Queens silently and thinking that they both shouldn't have come along.

**Five minutes later…**

"Co-sign squared over 0.0455." Pheles answered.

"No. Co-sign squared over 0.0415." Leanan-sidhe replied.

"Zero-point-zero-four-**FIVE**-five." Pheles stated.

"**ONE**-five." Leanan-sidhe countered.

"You're so wrong." Pheles remarked.

"You don't know string theory, bitch." Leanan-sidhe replied in exasperation.

Yukari had her face buried in her hands, eager for Yuji and Yutaro to return.

**Fifteen minutes later…**

"Don't ever bring that up. That's between me and Yuji." Pheles stated.

"He only kissed you just to replenish your power of existence to keep you alive. Trust me. He isn't a pervert." Leanan-sidhe replied.

"How would you know?" Pheles asked.

"Because I not only live in the same house with him, Yukari, and Yutaro, I even go to school with him and the others and there are a lot of girls there that have larger bust proportions and better curves than you." Leanan-sidhe replied as the names "Kazumi Yoshida" and "Miyuki Nakamura" came in her mind.

"Bullshit." Pheles replied.

"Maybe you should turn into a sixteen-year old version of yourself and enroll as a student just to see for yourself." Leanan-sidhe suggested.

"No way am I de-aging myself." Pheles replied. "Heh, maybe I should apply as a physics teacher just to give you four hell."

"That definitely means no legal quality time between you and Yuji alone in a locked broom closet." Leanan-sidhe spoke with a smile.

"Shut up! There's nothing going on between us and I don't feel that way towards him!" Pheles replied with a slight blush on her furious expression.

"That's the first indication that you're in denial." Leanan-sidhe remarked.

"Listen, I'm just making sure that the Reiji Maigo is safe and that's that!" Pheles stated.

"Or so you say." Leanan-sidhe replied cheerfully with skepticism in her tone.

"It's the truth!"

"You keep telling yourself that."

Unable to endure the bantering between the two Guze Queens, Yukari quickly opened the van's rear door, only to see Yuji and Yutaro have just emerged from the facility doors, moving a trolley holding several large canisters containing the potassium and sodium metals.

"Thank God you two came back." Yukari replied. "I thought I was going to lose my mind because of them."

"Sorry we took long." Yuji replied.

"Well, let's head back then." Yutaro spoke. "We're loaded!"

"Hang on tight!" Yukari replied as she drove the van away from the facility and then off the campus, heading for the open interstate roads at a hundred and twenty-five miles per hour. Once they were in the middle of the desert, Yukari stopped the van, allowing it to cool off before continuing back to Las Vegas.

"Since we're in route and in the middle of nowhere, it's safe to use our abilities." Yukari stated. "We need to grind all this in a fine powder before we return."

"I'll volunteer to keep watch on the surroundings just in case." Pheles quickly replied as she stepped outside the van, leaving Yutaro, Yuji, Yukari, and Leanan-sidhe to take care of the tedious work.

IIIII::::IIIII

Sunday morning and afternoon saw a flurry of activity as the Ocean family, their associates, the Sakai family, and a few others were preparing for a wild night that Las Vegas would never forget. As the sun began to set, every group was in place with all individuals ready to their part in their respective operations.

IIIII:::::IIIII

One more chapter for this filler arc.

1) The same set of plans used in the first movie of a certain trilogy.

2) Rig the slot machines to explode. Scramble the security network with Trojan Horse viruses that it must be shutdown and rebooted. Cameras are incapacitated by EMP blackout that operatives sneak the money out by cart that are then covered and disguised as serving carts during the overall forty-five second blackout. DON'T ASK BECAUSE I MADE IT UP AND THERE ARE OTHER DETAILS THAT I SHALL NOT DISCLOSE!


	9. All Sewn Up

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

This is the last chapter of this small side arc before heading back to the war of existence. Makes me wonder if Shana and Yuji could just cast a Fuzetsu at a casino and rig the games up.

IIIII::::IIIII

_The night was black as a nighttime kitty and life was thriving in Sin City._

_So many people were gambling' or engaging in pastimes that were kickin'._

_Money was rolling to be gone everyday, never to return like a fading sunray._

_Debts mounted while fortunes decay, but life isn't like that, wouldn't you say?_

_There are certain people in town with a large bag of plans._

_Their machinations run deep and they have really skilled hands._

_For those in town that night in the City That Never Sleeps, _

_That night is the night all fortunes but one take great leaps._

"You look very lovely tonight, Chigusa." Guinevere remarked amid seeing Chigusa in a lavender-blue evening dress that left only her arms exposed and showed her figure.

"Ara, you certainly are beautiful, Guinevere." Chigusa replied, seeing Guinevere in a red evening dress that had both her arms and shoulders exposed. "Is Kantaro still inside?"

"Yes, he's with Harrison to get confirmation of our associates moving into their places at Midas Paradise." Guinevere replied as she and Chigusa stood near the limo.

It wasn't long before Harrison and Kantaro, both in formal suits and wearing bowties, left the mansion to join with their respective wives.

"Everyone is in place." Harrison spoke. "Now we head out."

"Ladies and gentlemen, this will be a night to never be forgotten." Kantaro remarked. "Let's not keep Monsieur Delacour waiting."

With that, the four entered the limo, which then left the Ocean Manor before heading off.

IIIIII:::::IIIIII

At the Wynn and in a private suite…

"Okay, Jim and Russell are having their accomplices getting into position at the Mirage and the MGM Grand. They'll call back once everyone and everything is in place. The EMP Pinch is being set up and Yukari is with Charlotte and Henrietta at the moment." Danielle spoke as she hung her cell phone up.

"The Mirage, the Bellagio, and the MGM Grand." Andromeda muttered as she looked at the monitors receiving feed from the Bellagio's security network. "Now we watch and wait."

III:::III

In room 333 at the Bellagio, Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe shed their elaborate disguises that made them look like nineteen-year old college students.

Having checked into the Bellagio under the names "John Smithsonian" and "Miyuki Nagato" and paying by cash for the night, both Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe were given Room 333, thanks to Andromeda's computer hacking skills. Taking the elevator in the company of a familiar security guard going to the fourth floor, Yutaro feigned a cover act of opening his bag and accidentally spilling some documents on the floor. As the elevator occupants helped him clean up, Leanan-sidhe slipped one of the room's two keycards to the guard amid cleaning the mess of papers. Once the Mystes and the Guze Queen got off the elevator, located, and went inside their designated room, both Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe locked the door and closed all the windows before extinguishing all the light sources, except for one. Reaching into his backpack, Yutaro withdrew a toolbox and a blueprint copy of the Bellagio's ventilation system. Leanan-sidhe opened the toolbox and withdrew a large file, some screwdrivers, and a flashlight before looking at the ventilation blueprints.

"Alright, we head to the elevator shafts and head down the ladders to an open vent near the basement level. Through there, we can move out into the structural workings to another vent that will take us to the elevator shaft leading to the vault." Leanan-sidhe whispered as she and Yutaro placed small communication devices on their right ears.

"Sounds about right." Yutaro replied as he shed his street clothing to reveal a black medium sleeve shirt and black cargo pants. Leanan-sidhe took her turtleneck blouse off along with her jeans to reveal a black form-fitting skintight full body leotard that covered her whole body save for her head, hands, and feet.

Yutaro raised an eyebrow at Leanan-sidhe's adolescent figure and the Guze Queen noticed it. "Is something wrong?"

"I was wondering on which of us is going first." Yutaro replied, diverting her inquiry with a question while thinking. 'She sure hides her adolescent proportions too well.'

"I'll go first. My eyesight is better than yours." Leanan-sidhe replied as she pried and unscrewed the vent panel before carefully placing it aside. She then made a call to room service for a bottle of vodka.

After placing the toolbox and the ventilation plans into his backpack, Yutaro hid Leanan-sidhe's large suitcase in the closet, knowing that Matthew would stop by to pick it up later. Leanan-sidhe went first and Yutaro followed after her.

Down in the lobby…

"Can I help you sir?" the receptionist asked as a young man with raven hair, blue-gray eyes, and a moustache and wearing a gray suit while dragging a large suitcase with wheels at the bottom and another suitcase on top approached him.

"Yes, I would like to book a room for just tonight." The guest replied in a thick Japanese accent.

"And what name?" the receptionist asked.

"Frederick Hiraga." The moustache young man replied.

"Alright, then." The receptionist replied.

"I'll pay in cash straight." Frederick offered, bringing a wad of cash from his pocket and placing it before the receptionist, who took it as payment.

"Alright sir." The receptionist spoke before providing a pair of key cards.

"It's room 410. Enjoy your stay then sir." The receptionist replied and Frederick headed for the elevator, taking it to the sixth floor.

After finding and entering Room 410, Frederick locked the door and closed the window curtains before unzipping the suitcase, which opened on its own accord as the sandy-haired Matthew, wearing a T-shirt and cargo shorts, emerged to take a breather.

"About time we got here." Matthew remarked.

"Frederick Hiraga" merely nodded before taking off the wig and fake moustache, revealing him to be none other than Yuji Sakai, who opened the top compartment of the wheeled suitcase and changed out of his suit to black street clothing.

"Let's get started." Yuji spoke, taking his cell phone out and sending a text message that said, "Snake of the Festival."

From the fourth floor, a hotel security guard felt his cell phone vibrate before heading to the second floor, knowing that the cameras were compromised for a few minutes to allow him to move undetected.

Reaching Room 410, the hotel guard knocked and the door opened, allowing him entry before Yuji closed it.

"The package is in Room 333." The guard spoke, placing the key on the dresser.

"Thanks Jeffrey." Yuji replied. "Are Paul and Brian in position?"

"They're both waiting for Matthew to deliver the package." Jeffrey replied before quickly leaving. Matthew opened the carrying suitcase and took out the uniform for Bellagio room service. He also placed the fake mustache and wig on before leaving and proceeded to the first floor where he managed to obtain a room service cart. Placing an order for vodka to Room 333 and an order for ice and water to Room 222 on the cart, Matthew headed to the third floor. Meanwhile, Yuji managed to reach the third floor when he heard Andromeda speak through the communication device in his right ear. "It's clear."

Entering Room 333, Yuji opened the closet and took Leanan-sidhe's suitcase out before receiving a knock on the door. Opening it to find Matthew, Yuji slipped the suitcase into the cart, obscuring it with the white linen before taking the vodka. Once Matthew left with the package, Yuji quickly climbed into the open ventilation shaft with the vodka and a sketch of the Bellagio's ventilation system to direct him through a maze of twists and turns towards the elevators where he took the ladders down to the basement level. Crawling through the open vent, Yuji found himself in the structural workings of the Bellagio and made his way to another vent opening that led him to the elevator shaft where Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe were.

"Right on time." Yutaro spoke as Yuji emerged before sitting on top of the stationary elevator.

"We've already set up the ropes for quick descent." Leanan-sidhe added.

"Alright, now we wait." Yuji replied, noticing the laser field below the elevator shaft. "There sure are a lot of them in the city."

"I know but they haven't taken any action yet." Yutaro replied, knowing that Yuji was referring to the Flame Hazes in Las Vegas. "Yuji, Leanan, and I are in position and waiting."

"Alright good." Andromeda replied.

On the second floor, Matthew arrived at Room 222 where Paul and Brian were waiting before giving them their ice and water and Leanan's suitcase, which they opened to reveal two large canisters of fine-powdered potassium and sodium along with a uniform for Bellagio security. Matthew watched as the pair climbed into the ventilation shaft with the canisters and a copy of the ventilation blueprint before leaving with Leanan's suitcase, heading back to the first floor to a secluded area to change into a security guard.

At the private suite at Wynn, Andromeda received confirmation. Yutaro, Yuji, and Leanan-sidhe were in the elevator shaft leading to the Bellagio vault. Paul and Brian were in the section where ventilation went to the casino floors.

"Looks everyone is in place at all three sites." Andromeda spoke as she received confirmation from the teams in the Mirage and the Bellagio.

"Alright. You ready, Yukari?" Danielle asked over a walkie-talkie as Andromeda threw a large rubber blanket with an aluminum external coating over the computers, which she switched power from the electrical socket to a backup generator and several car batteries. The equipment was unplugged and away from the electrical outlets.

"Ready, Danielle." Yukari replied on the other end.

"Anytime." Danielle spoke before hearing a machine starting up. As the sound began to rev louder and louder, she heard an explosion from the other end. Immediately, the power went out all over Las Vegas.

In the elevator shaft, two Mystes and a Guze Queen, all three wearing equipment and gear to scale down the shaft, watched as the power went out and the laser field deactivated due to the city-wide EMP wave. The second the power went out, all three descended down before stopping a few inches off the floor, which Yutaro confirmed by reaching down and feeling cold concrete. Cutting the ropes with box cutters, the three fell to the ground while hearing the ropes sail back up to the top of the elevator shaft. Seconds later, the power came back on and the laser field reactivated.

Detaching their scaling gear off, the two Mystes and the Guze Queen stood up and Yutaro, being the tallest, found that the bottommost laser was three feet above his head.

"Well, I guess it's on to the next phase." The Mystes of the Mahiru Maigo spoke as he opened his backpack and handed gloves and masks out to Yuji and Leanan-sidhe.

Leanan-sidhe was slightly nervous, despite having committed theft a few times. But when she compared the Renaissance times to the current period, the Guze Queen was completely surprised on how complex this theft was. No, this couldn't be called theft. This required a new term called a heist. The second planning that Yutaro and Yuji had put together for this operation had impressed her, Danielle, and Pheles, though the latter seemed a bit annoyed that Yuji was acting like a juvenile delinquent. Well, juvenile delinquent would be too light a term.

'More like criminal masterminds in the making.' Leanan-sidhe thought to herself. 'Both him and Yutaro.'

Yutaro, having discarded his blown-out earphone set, reached into the backpack and pulled out a small box covered in aluminum foil, which he removed to reveal a rubber cover that he then removed. Both served to protect the equipment aside from the EMP overloading them. Opening the box, Yutaro gave Yuji and Leanan-sidhe replacement earphones to substitute the blown-out units.

"The two guards at the vault are facing away from your position but they're very close." Andromeda spoke over the comm.

Reaching into the backpack, Yutaro withdrew a metallic ball before setting it up.

"What is that?" Yuji asked quietly.

"Gas bomb that Harrison designed and produced." Yutaro whispered as he handed it to Leanan. "Help me open the door a bit."

Yuji nodded before he and Yutaro slowly slid the door open to see two guards just above them but their backs facing them. Leanan-sidhe quickly placed the gas bomb at their feet quietly before Yuji and Yutaro closed the door.

Waiting for a few seconds, the sound of a small explosion erupted and the sounds of two bodies falling five seconds later followed.

"He must have made the chloroform too strong. Hold your breath the moment we open the doors. Remember, we can't use flames of purification without attracting the attention of the Flame Hazes." Yutaro spoke as he and Yuji pulled the doors back, all three holding their breaths. While Leanan-sidhe took the backpack and headed to the vault door, Yutaro and Yuji dragged the two unconscious guards before placing cuffs on their wrists and ankles. They left the elevator doors open to let the chloroform flow out into the elevator shaft and Yutaro kicked the smoldering shell of the gas bomb into the shaft as well.

Reaching into the backpack, Yutaro pulled out a keypad and the toolbox, which he opened and removed the inner section to reveal a small electronic kit.

"This is going to take a few minutes to hotwire." Yutaro spoke.

"Take your time." Yuji spoke. "I hope that the cash cart we had sent inside hasn't been tampered with."

"How do we deal with the lasers sensors inside the vault?" Leanan-sidhe asked.

"The control panel that Yutaro is hotwiring can shut all security measures inside the vault." Yuji replied as he walked over and closed the elevator doors, knowing that the chloroform had dissipated. "Once we've done packing up the cash, we'll reactivate them back."

"How do we get all of it out of the casino?" the Guze Queen inquired before hearing the vault doors open and seeing the security measures inside shut down.

"By now, Paul and Brian have already stirred pandemonium on the Bellagio gaming floors so those two along with Matthew and Jeff will be integral to the last step." Yutaro spoke. "Before we headed down here, I hotwired the elevator to bypass the code requirement needed to activate it. Now it will only work once for a single two-way trip so we had to do the scaling down to get here earlier."

"Ah, I see." Leanan-sidhe replied.

"There's a one hundred and seventy-six million right before us now." Yutaro remarked.

"Well, let's start packing." Yuji spoke.

III:::III

From the suite in the Wynn…

After plugging the computers back into the electrical sockets and seeing that they still had access to the Bellagio's security and communication systems, Andromeda and Danielle watched in satisfaction as the heist at the Bellagio was close to completion. The MGM Grand was a success as Danielle received the telephone call from her older brother Russell Ocean, who said that their elder brother Jim was still at work on the Mirage.

"Almost close to pulling it off." Andromeda remarked.

"The Bellagio is definitely still in chaos." Danielle laughed as she saw people in the gaming floor running in the panic from the sprinklers activating, igniting the potassium and sodium clouds with explosive results while the female waitresses were suffering from wardrobe malfunctions that they were screaming like banshees.

Down in the vault, they saw Yuji, Yutaro, and Leanan-sidhe load the last of the stored cash into a number of duffle bags that they pulled out from the cash cart that Matthew and Jeff had tricked the vault security into placing within the vault.

Back at the Bellagio vault, the trio consisting of two Mystes and one Guze Queen had finished loading the duffle bags before piling them at the elevator doors. Yuji took the bottle of vodka that he had on him before pouring some onto a towel. Walking around the open shelves in the vault, he washed the areas they had touched in order to wipe clean any fingerprints left behind. Once Yutaro closed the Bellagio vault and disconnected the keypad off the system, he left Yuji to wipe the fingerprints off the surfaces.

Yutaro took a remote control from his pocket before pressing the top button and it wasn't long before he heard the elevator descend down to their level where they entered with all the duffle bags. Andromeda planted false security footage to conceal the trio.

"Matthew, Jeffrey, Paul, and Brian are on standby." Danielle spoke, seeing her four associates at the elevator doors.

Amid their slow ascent upwards, Yutaro opened the latch in the elevator car's ceiling before signaling for Yuji and Leanan-sidhe to follow him the moment the elevator stopped. With the security cameras compromised, the only thing they needed to worry about was on who awaited them outside the elevator on the first floor.

The elevator doors opened to reveal Matthew, Jeffrey, Paul, and Brian, all four dressed as security guards. None of them paid any heed to the trio escaping into the elevator shaft as the four silently took the duffle bags and proceeded down a hallway leading to a garage. Most of the security detail was still out on the casino floors, dealing with the chaos.

While Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe parted from Yuji to head back to their respective rooms, Matthew, Jeff, Paul, and Brian hauled the duffle bags with stolen money to the garage where Pheles, wearing a baggy uniform of an armored security driver and a large cap that had her long hair stuffed within, waited at the driver seat. It was a disguise to hide both her identity and her gender. She had a calm exterior but was seething inside on what Yuji, Yutaro, Yukari, and Leanan-sidhe had her do. For now, the Guze Queen would follow the plan. But once they were back in Japan, she would have to have a talk with the three Mystes and her fellow Guze Queen.

"Took you all long enough." Pheles spoke, trying to make her voice sound deep and masculine as she could.

"All set, Phillip." Jeff called out as he and the others piled into the back of the armored truck with the loot. It was obviously a fake name that Pheles gave herself while cross-dressing into the opposite gender.

"Very well." Pheles replied in a low, deep voice before starting the engine and driving off to an undisclosed location to unload the stolen cash from the Bellagio. Despite being angry in her mind, Pheles was also mentally amused with a bit in awe on the planning and performance of the Sakai brothers in pulling this heist off without using any of their special powers of the Guze.

'It's a pity that they're wasting their talents and intelligence just to do something like this.' The Guze Queen thought to herself.

IIIIII:::::IIIIII

While the covert heists at the Bellagio, the MGM Grand, and the Mirage were coming to their respectively successful conclusions, things were slowly coming into play as Kantaro and Chigusa looked around the gaming floor of the Midas Paradise. Kantaro was completely oblivious to the waitresses in the casino and Chigusa ignored the stares coming from several single men that were enamored by her youthful beauty, yet that didn't last long amid them realizing that she was already taken. It was a good thing that the chaos caused by the blackout settled down with the people at Midas Paradise going back to gambling as if nothing had happened.

Harrison and Guinevere were in the slot machine section, separately setting up the programmed trapdoors to be triggered at certain machines when the last coin was added to the sequence. Earlier, all slot machines in Midas Paradise were taken offline to allow the programming of the four trapdoors along with other various programs that Eli, Gordon, and Issac wrote. The payouts rigged amounted to several hundred thousand dollars per trapdoor triggered. Kantaro and Chigusa, however, were given the locations of two machines in each of the two smaller sections housing the slot machines that had the programmed trapdoors. The rigged payouts, however, were in the millions.

Making their way to the first smaller slot section of the casino, both Kantaro and Chigusa separated before heading to the machines containing the programmed trapdoors, each one being right underneath a large decorative cabinet. After feigning some two minute gambling, both husband and wife entered the coin combinations, which they both remembered well before arriving at the casino, needed to trigger the trapdoors but refrained from completing the sequence, placing the last coin needed to activate the win on top of the depositing chamber before leaving and joining back up silently at the balcony.

"Done?" Kantaro asked.

"Done." Chigusa replied cheerfully as she and her husband watched an unsuspecting gambler arrive at each of the machines they were at moments ago before inserting the coin into the coin slot and rolling the reels. The reaction was instantaneous as the two rigged slot machines rang loudly before the cabinets above opened to unleash waves of coins to the surprise of the winning gamblers.

Chigusa and Kantaro smiled before moving onto the next smaller section of slot machines before repeating their feigning procedures and then setting up the trapdoors to be triggered.

Once more, both husband and wife watched as two more lucky slow winners hit their respective jackpots.

"Mission accomplished." Kantaro remarked with a smile before he and Chigusa headed to the floor together where they passed Harrison and Guinevere. Eli, Gordon, and Issac would be programming the other slot machines to give small payouts but at a continuous rate.

"Final…" Harrison whispered in earshot in Kantaro, who replied. "…verdict."

It was a coded phrase of two parts to indicate that they were ready to proceed with the next part. The plans at the slot machines were done, leaving only the craps, blackjack, and roulette tables left. With the card shuffling machines getting replaced by rigged units that ensure the dealers will bust and lose, that left craps and roulette, the latter being handled by Cassandra and Frederick. The loaded roulette balls had just been deployed, thanks to a casino pit-boss under Harrison's pay. Now the loaded dice were coming in. Taking the craps table at the far right, Harrison subtly signaled Kantaro and Chigusa by yawning at the same time. From the far left table of the floor, Kantaro replied to Harrison and Guinevere by rubbing his eyebrows.

It was time to execute Operation Jackpot.

With Chigusa behind him, Kantaro had his rigged Zippo lighter out with the cap open, ready to manipulate the loaded dice to bring winning results. He chose his spot well as a large gambler obscured the cheating gadget from noticeable view.

Chigusa placed $90,000 worth of chips on the table. "Eleven, all of them on pass."

Once all bets, many of them higher than Chigusa's bet, were placed, the slightly transparent dice were thrown onto the table and Kantaro's eyes, ever sharp and able to calculate the trajectory and angles, narrowed as he mentally could see the results. Lady Luck seemed to shine favorably as Kantaro noticed that he didn't need to use the gadget for the come-out throw as a five and six rolled upwards. In a single play, the Sakai couple won a whopping sum of $270,000 to be added to their $90,000 and Chigusa smiled before taking the gaming tokens, both circular and rectangular in shape, that were placed before her. A few of the other gamblers that bet a seven also received a tripling addition to the amount they betted. As a new shooter came in, Chigusa readied $120,000 for a Don't Pass bet to be placed AFTER the come-out roll, hoping for a point to be established.

"Wait for it." Kantaro whispered to her as bets were played. The dice were thrown from their left across the table and the numbers came up on ten, establishing a point.

Chigusa smiled as she placed $120,000 for ten and Kantaro held the lighter ready. Everyone else placed bets on seven. As the dice were thrown again, Kantaro's sharp eyes watched as they rebounded off before seeing them settle. During that fateful nanosecond, the first dye had a five on the top and he could see a six on the left and a four on the right. At the same time, the second dye had a two on top and he could see a four on the left and a six on the right. That very moment, Kantaro closed the capping lid Zippo lighter in his hand and an ultrasonic pulse nicked the dice away, bringing a four on the first dye and a six on the second dye.

In that rigged play, the Sakai couple won $600,000 in gaming tokens, bringing their total sum to $840,000 that didn't include the $160,000 leftover from their original starting cash. Cheers erupted around Chigusa as she received all the chips on the table while Kantaro pecked her cheek.

"Betting low this time." Chigusa whispered as she placed the $840,000 into a case for safekeeping before using the $160,000 for the remaining time designated. Over and over for several minutes, the gamblers around the Sakai couple were winning big as they were betting against the house. Chigusa purposely lost some of the small bets for the first minute as Kantaro rigged the outcome of the dice. But afterwards, she began winning the small bets as she joined the other gamblers in betting against the house. The next few moments saw everyone at the table winning big against the casino.

At the other craps table, Harrison and Guinevere were having fun with the same results as the Ocean couple and the other gamblers were winning against the house.

At the blackjack and roulette tables, gamblers were winning big as dealers busted out and the loaded balls were nicked remotely underneath the table to land on designated numbers that were betted on. Several minutes became rather memorable as hundreds of millions of dollars were going to nearly all gamblers at the Midas Paradise.

Kantaro looked at the other side of the gaming floor and made eye contact with Harrison, who brushed his forehead with two fingers. Kantaro rubbed his eyes in response, signaling for the last phase. Players were winning big but there was the risk of them dumping their winnings back into the casino.

Reaching into his coat, Harrison grasped a small remote control before flipping a switch.

"Dear, let's cash in." Harrison whispered and Guinevere nodded before taking their winnings of two million and heading away.

Kantaro, taking the $800,000 that Chigusa managed to further win against the casino house, whispered to Chigusa, who took the case that had the $840,000, before both of them headed off to meet up with the Ocean couple.

"Cassandra and Franklin have already taken off, leaving just us left to depart." Guinevere spoke.

"Well, Kantaro and I are hanging back to ensure that things goes off without errors." Harrison spoke as he and Kantaro squeezed the left end of their bowties. "We should be back in an hour."

"That's fine." Chigusa replied as Kantaro handed her the rest of their winnings. As the limousine pulled up, Guinevere and Chigusa entered before the vehicle headed out to the Ocean estate.

Once they were gone, Kantaro and Harrison were in route to return to the gaming floors when the ground shook and the building began to violently tremble in response for several minutes.

"A bit too early isn't it?" Kantaro asked, knowing that high-caliber explosives, on timers, were planted underneath the foundation of the Midas Paradise at one of the primary columns keeping the structure stable. Prior to Guinevere and Chigusa leaving, Harrison had activated the countdown via remote.

"Well, the winning period has ended with a bang through this." Harrison replied as he and Kantaro went inside to see the gaming floor in chaos as people packed their winnings before evacuating. Some grabbed handfuls of gaming tokens in the confusion as security was too occupied to notice the thefts. From the stairs, guests staying in the hotel sections of the Midas Paradise flooded to the outside. There was no doubt that Harrison's associates in charge on hotel sabotage had timed their actions very well and were using the evacuating crowd as cover to escape. After watching the casino empty out, Kantaro and Harrison made their departure, confirming another Mission Accomplished.

Moving along with the evacuating crowds, Harrison and Kantaro caught sight of Franklin Delacour outside the Midas Paradise standing in complete disbelief as to what had just transpired.

"I'll add a cherry to the top of his grief for tonight." Kantaro offered. "If he doesn't see you, he won't know that you're involved."

"I owe you big time, Kantaro." Harrison replied. "Two blocks south of here, I have a parked car and will wait for you there."

Kantaro nodded before watching Harrison make his way through the evacuating crowds.

IIIIII:::::IIIIII

Somewhere outside of Las Vegas, Yukari and Pheles, having decided to forfeit their individual shares of the one hundred and seventy-six million dollars stolen from the Bellagio vault, watched Matthew, Jeff, Paul, and Brian depart in a separate van with a total of ninety-six million dollars to be quartered evenly between the four of them. That left eighty million left to be divided between Andromeda, Danielle, Leanan-sidhe, Yuji, and Yutaro.

"Now that this is done, can I take this vile outfit off?" Pheles asked in a sharp tone.

"Yeah, sure." Yukari replied. "Since we're outside of Las Vegas, I doubt anyone would sense you using the Flame of Purification."

IIIIII::::IIIIIII

From where he stood, Franklin Delacour was internally fuming on how the Grand Opening of the Midas Paradise went down to hell in a hand-basket. Tonight was more than just a bad night but Franklin had no idea on how worse it really was.

"Tough night, isn't it? Three quarters of a billion running out the door." A voice spoke as the owner walked past Franklin from behind before facing him. "You still think you're a hotshot after all this?"

Franklin narrowed his eyes at the man he knew as "Keiji Fujiwara", unaware that it was actually an alias that Kantaro Sakai went by. "You think I'm down for the count but not as even fate doesn't know where my soft targets are."

"Sure about that?" Kantaro asked.

"Sure? I'm much too strong to be taken down by one little setback." Franklin growled. "This town might have changed but not me, Mr. Fujiwara. I know people that invest heavily in me and they can hurt in ways you can't even imagine. And I haven't forgotten on how you embarrassed me in front of all those people at the Mirage."

Kantaro merely blinked, remembering on how he had completely out maneuvered the man in several rounds of blackjack. Franklin obviously had too much pride and ego for even a Frenchman, which meant very little common sense. Such a person was a rather predictable enemy and one that needed to be taught a lesson in humility.

"Well, first I know the guys you would send after me. They like me better than you." Kantaro replied. There was no doubt that Franklin's arrogance and pride kept others from associating with him. The only things that made the man valuable were his net worth and the businesses he owned, most of it now gone.

"Second, you've lost a lot more than you realize as what goes around comes around. You won't go to the cops because… well… they'll be a dead end for you." Kantaro added. Considering the illegal maneuvers that Franklin Delacour tried to do to the Ocean family and unaware that he could be nailed for them by Harrison's concrete evidence, law enforcement and perhaps the federal government would be out for his blood.

"Third, I only have just this to say: Matthew 23:12. You should really grow up, Franklin." Kantaro added before he walked away, vanishing into the crowds of people. Franklin glared at the man's retreating back before hearing his cell phone go off. Answering the call, Franklin's eyes widened and his skin paled before darkness enveloped his vision.

IIIIII:::::IIIIII

In Misaki, Japan…

Keisaku was sitting next to Margery, watching the international news online on a Monday afternoon when they came across a rather interesting story from Las Vegas that had the headlines:

BELLAGIO, MIRAGE, AND MGM GRAND CASINOS ROBBED IN ONE NIGHT.

CASINO OWNER FRANKLIN DELACOUR SUFFERS NERVOUS BREAKDOWN AS MIDAS PARADISE IS CLOSED DOWN.

HARRISON OCEAN, OWNER OF CAESAR PALACE AND WYNN, PURCHASES BELLAGIO, MIRAGE, AND MGM GRAND.

STOCKS SKYROCKET AT WYNN AND CAESAR PALACE.

While Keisaku was a bit ignorant to news that didn't concern him, Margery had a strange feeling in regards to the casino heists.

IIIIII::::IIIIII

What better way to get fast funds than to pull off casino heists? At least now, Kantaro doesn't have to work overseas with the capital sums he and Chigusa won.

Now to slowly head back to the war of existence.


	10. Genesis of the Mystes Triumvirate Part 1

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

Another chapter added as usual.

IIIII::::IIIII

"When I said that the four of us would give our shares of the Bellagio loot to Danielle, it didn't mean that we'd give all of it." Yuji spoke to a rather irate Pheles. "Yukari may have given her share away but Danielle, being rich and wealthy, didn't need her part of the loot and thus, gave hers to Yukari as a gift. All she wanted was the management of the Bellagio, which she got from her father. Besides, she was planning to give her share to us as a nice bonus anyways."

"I guess I misjudged you all in thinking that you four weren't inspired by greed." Pheles muttered darkly.

"Franklin Delacour was inspired by greed and committed various deeds that were unethical to get what he wanted." Leanan-sidhe countered. "Overall, the loot will just be used as a resource against those that have ill intentions against us in the real world."

"When going up against real world adversaries like Franklin Delacour, neither Yuji, Yukari, Leanan-sidhe, or myself want to resort to utilizing our supernatural abilities." Yutaro added. "While we don't tend to play fair against potential foes, we draw a line and have a small code of ethics when it comes to enacting retribution against potential antagonists that aren't aware of the Guze whatsoever. That's why we're keeping the cash looted from the Bellagio as a resource to use on those occasions."

"Besides, taking on challenges with only normal means such as financing, connections, intelligence, wit, and skill makes the tasks not only more difficult but also more rewarding in order to show that Yutaro, Yukari, Leanan-sidhe, and I don't always have to rely on our supernatural abilities to succeed and solve problems." Yuji added.

"Also, the bootlegging business that Yutaro, Yuji, Leanan-sidhe, and I take part in hauls in a lot of profit and that's very much the source of income that we can be somewhat selfish with." Yukari added.

"I swear, you four can definitely become the biggest gang of professional criminals I've ever had the chance of meeting." Pheles remarked as she took a sip of tea. "Already, you all are normal high school students during the day and alcohol bootleg smugglers at night to boot."

"Smuggler is too strong a word." Yukari spoke.

"Heh, I definitely wouldn't mind adding that to my list of specialties." Yutaro remarked, causing Leanan-sidhe to subtly elbow him that he slightly winced in pain.

"I can tolerate a degree of troublemaking from you but even I have my limits." The Guze Queen replied.

At the Sakai household…

"Desk job in the city. The income isn't as high as it is overseas but it's not a problem as long as I'm close to home." Kantaro spoke as he and Chigusa ate breakfast.

"Especially when Harrison disclosed information on when to sell your shares of the Wynn and the Caesar Palace." Chigusa replied. "Quite a way to retire as a wealthy millionaire with the help of a major billionaire like him now that he owns five major casinos in Las Vegas. Quite a reward, considering that my winnings and your stock earnings are all in U.S. currency."

"Just the liquid assets that'll continue to haul in the interest that will be more than enough to live off of." Kantaro replied.

"I wonder on whether we'll be having some grandchildren soon." Kantaro remarked. "Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe are progressing very well."

"Can't say the same about Yuji and Pheles." Chigusa replied. "Who would've thought that our younger twin son would be in the company of an older woman like her?"

"I'd be a cruel person if I said that Pheles is a cougar or a shotacon." Kantaro remarked, having heard about the Beautiful Whim's background from Yutaro. It was one of three benefits to being the Mystes of the Mahiru Maigo as Yutaro could potentially be the sole top authority on the history of all Guze-related events that have ever occurred on the Earth. It was a side-effect left by Garuda amid the birth of the Mahiru Maigo. "Should I feel sorry for our Yuji?"

"Only because he has the Reiji Maigo within his being." Chigusa replied. "I think Yuji will be fine. Even though it isn't noticeable, something is starting between him and Pheles."

"Not noticeable, I can agree." Kantaro answered. "As for Yukari, I wish her luck with that Flame Haze Tuner."

IIIIII:::::IIIIII

A few days later…

Having purchased the abandoned warehouse property under Leanan-sidhe's name, it was no surprise that Yutaro Sakai, Yuji Sakai, and Yukari Hirai-Sakai began to put the additional room legally acquired to good use. Cleaning up and moving things around took some time but they managed to get rearrangements done. No longer did they have to use the underground bunker to make their alcohol beverages as it was now converted to a safe-house. The interior of the warehouse was vast with their finished products placed to one side and the "laboratory" along with the starting material and equipment taking much of the other side. Security measures, both normal and Guze-related, were placed around the warehouse to ward off intruders of all sorts.

It was a bright morning that Friday as Yuji, Yutaro, Yukari, and Leanan-sidhe arrived at the school together. Their absence on Monday was explained in a note from Chigusa and Kantaro, who mentioned about the four being outside the country and the airplane flights delaying them from returning. No one questioned them further and it was a usual routine in going from class to class throughout the day. Once school was over, the Mystes trio and one Guze Queen left the school for the warehouse where they found Pheles waiting for them, particularly Yuji.

They spent the day brewing and bottling more alcoholic beverages that Yutaro and Yuji would be selling overseas. Chromium kegs of bootleg rum, scotch, whiskey, malt, and Madeira in all varieties were just some of the finished products that composed the overall selections that took up one side of the warehouse.

Leanan-sidhe, having gotten into the alcoholic bootlegging with the Sakai siblings after deciding to stay in Misaki with Yutaro, proved to be not only a fast learner but also a vital specialist in creating new recipes that contributed to the unique collection of recipes that Yutaro, Yuji, and Yukari compiled from scratch since the first day they went into this trade. The Spiral Organ also joined Yukari in dealing with the administrative part of the alcohol bootlegging that dealt with various issues such as obtaining valuable high-quality ingredients from very reliable sources. It wasn't much of a burden as Yuji and Yutaro sometimes helped with the information sorting.

It was fortunate that Margery Daw happened to come into Misaki. The busty blonde proved to not only enjoy the free alcohol but also seemed rather smitten in Yuji offering her the role in being a taste-tester. Margery had no problems in consuming the "prototype" alcohol beverages, which exposed her tastes to new experiences. In return, Yuji gave a generous payment in the form of cash sums plus some of the best alcoholic beverages that he and the others kept in stock. Despite accepting the compensation, the Interpreter of Condolences had some quiet disappointment in regards to it. Many a night she irrationally dreamt about seducing Yuji or getting him drunk enough so that she could have her way with him without interruptions behind closed doors. In reality, Margery knew that she was only feeling that way due to what he was getting her to do and what he was giving her in return. At the moment, both were on good and friendly terms such that it didn't seem that there would be any progress beyond just that. She still had walls around her heart but Margery had a feeling that either Yuji or Keisaku would one day break those walls down.

Pheles was a complete newcomer and had little knowledge in regards to alcoholic beverages. Thus, Yuji decided to take the task in giving Pheles an overview on the chemistry of aerobic fermentation, the general literature behind alcohol brewing, and the deviations that led to beverage variety. The Beautiful Whim was completely taken aback on the vast spectrum of knowledge that Yuji and the others had but it wasn't a surprise that she managed to grasp what the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo taught her.

"Who the heck taught you all of this?" Pheles had asked.

"You'd be surprised on how informative the Internet is in looking up the material along with the right people that can either teach you or give you books that teach the art of wine-making." Yuji had replied.

Pheles, wearing an apron over her skintight outfit, found more enjoyment on the daily trips that Yuji and Yutaro would make overseas with their Shadow-walking abilities. The period of negotiations determined success or failure but there were occasions of attempted double-crossing by the purchasers such that Yuji would end up having to engage in all-out fistfights. The Beautiful Whim constantly tagged along with Yuji, declaring that she wasn't going to let the Reiji Maigo out of her sights. The excuse was a valid one but it didn't completely hide the other reasons on why she was following Yuji. Back when Johan was alive, Pheles was the stronger being and always protected him. It seemed out of habit that she sought to keep the Reiji Maigo safe, which meant keeping Yuji safe. However, the Guze Queen realized that Yuji wasn't like Johan. The youth was more formidable and skilled than his predecessor. The attitude was also different. While Johan sought to avoid confrontations, Yuji was the opposite because he seemed to recklessly invite confrontations the moment they appear. Pheles had seen Yuji not only hold his own against Sydonay but actually display real potential chance to outmatch and overpower the Balle Masque General in battle. Such an event has yet to happen but the Guze Queen knew that it wouldn't be long before the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo that was Yuji Sakai would be able to defeat the Thousand Changes without difficulty. Thus, the Mystes proved able to defend himself well without her help, leaving Pheles with a reason that she felt was too open and too personal to reveal in regards to why she was tagging with Yuji. The youth was slowly becoming a force of attraction to her but the Guze Queen knew that he had a very long way to go before she would even consider him to be truly worthy.

Dusk slowly came that Yukari and Leanan-sidhe went home, leaving Yutaro, Yuji, and Pheles behind to prepare their cargo for sale. Yutaro allotted some for his quick trip to Ontario while Yuji would be heading to Rome with the rest. The Mystes of the Reiji Maigo grumbled a bit about Pheles tagging along. Once Yutaro vanished into the shadows, Yuji followed suit with Pheles tagging with him. Not a word was spoken between the Mystes and the Guze Queen as Yuji met with an English-speaking bar owner in the back store and was paid for the cargo in cold cash. It was a simple transaction that would definitely benefit the Italian bar owner more than Yuji as the man wasn't a stranger to subtle price-gouging. But since the wine had "naturally" aged under a modified Fuzetsu and had greater quality, it was certainly good value that matched the price set. Pocketing the hefty sum of Euros, Yuji and Pheles left the establishment and Shadow-walked back to Japan.

'I wonder if I should've stayed and break into the Vatican archives to find information on the Illuminati.' Yuji thought to himself.

Pheles broke the silence. "I suppose even Johan would agree that you're technically making an honest living despite abusing your abilities to brew, distill, and produce alcoholic beverages."

"There is no moral law against what I and the others are doing." Yuji replied. "We're just using our resources and advantages to do what we do for this alcohol beverage business. There really is no way to technically say that alcohol production is illegal. The governments are just afraid of errors that can lead to deaths and also want to curb alcohol beverage production to controlled levels. No one has gotten hurt unless they were allergic to alcohol."

The Guze Queen raised her eyebrow. "So you admit breaking the laws?"

"Just the human ones. You yourself, like every other Tomogara, have no regards to human laws and the like anyways." Yuji replied. "What are the moral laws in regards to alcohol production? As long as it's safe, anyone can make alcoholic beverages."

Pheles narrowed her eyes at Yuji but couldn't deny that he had a point. The casino heist still kept her thinking on how uncouth the preceding Mystes to the Reiji Maigo can be. At the same time, however, Pheles slightly blushed at the memory of Yuji kissing her and the arousing effects that came from it even though he did so just to replenish her power of existence reservoir, which was dangerously low at the time.

"I'm surprised on how powerful you are. I hate to admit it but you're completely at a caliber beyond even Johan's capabilities." The Beautiful Whim remarked. "The same can be said for Yutaro and Yukari. Even Leanan-sidhe is becoming a formidable combatant in her own right and I don't have to see her fight a battle just to say that."

"It was a strenuous process for Yutaro, Yukari, and I." Yuji replied. "It's strange enough that Leanan-sidhe learns faster with Yutaro teaching and training her. At the same time, he ends up receiving the same in return."

"That is equivalent exchange." Pheles remarked. "Why don't you tell me about how you and the others started out as this Mystes Triumvirate that Leanan-sidhe referred to you three as?"

Yuji sighed. Apparently, it wasn't an official name as it was an idea from Chigusa. Nonetheless, the moniker stuck, even though the three Mystes kept low profiles across the Guze.

"Well, since you insist…" Yuji spoke before beginning to tell the tale, thinking about events that occurred a year ago when Yukari became the Mystes of the Seiren Maigo. "A year ago…"

~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~

Genesis of the Mystes Triumvirate

~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~

A year ago…

"The Mahiru Maigo and the Reiji Maigo, both of them opposite twins of each other as one was born in the light and the other was born in the darkness." Asuka spoke as she stood on her feet while looking at both Yutaro, whose Hougu glowed a bright orange with a red corona, and Yuji, whose Hougu glowed a bright cyan with a blue corona. Both brothers were barely able to stand after the immense amount of spell-casting and close-quarter combat that they had executed together to decimate the large Tomogara army. Yukari, whose flame was slowly diminishing, leaned against a nearby tree after having engaged in combat against some of the stray enemies that tried to flank the group.

"The dream that I had dreamt has finally come to reality." The Shinto priestess spoke as she revealed the Seiren Maigo, which glowed a bright white with a yellow corona inside her form. Unlike the Mahiru Maigo and the Reiji Maigo, both of which looked like energy spheres surrounded with various clocklike gears and mechanical parts, the Seiren Maigo took the appearance of an energy sphere enclosed by six rings of platinum that spun in different directions. There were six ceremonial-looking wheels made of gold: two of them were at opposite positions of each other on the vertical y-axis, another two were positioned opposite of each other on the horizontal x-axis, and the last two were positioned opposite of each other on the horizontal z-axis. What was rather mind-boggling and beyond comprehension was the fact that the platinum rings of the Seiren Maigo moved freely without collision despite all of them having the same size, same radius, and equally positioned in relation to the energy sphere's respective distances from them. But then again, one would have more trouble to comprehending how the wheels surrounding the Biblical Ophanim were arranged along with their operation than how the rings around the Seiren Maigo moved without colliding with each other.

"I'm just glad that the Pandora Glas didn't realize what you have in your possession." Yuji remarked.

"They will continue their attempts to kill me and even though I have emerged victorious in every fight, they are getting stronger and stronger on every encounter." Asuka replied as she channeled power of existence in immense amounts from the Seiren Maigo into Yukari. "It is fortunate that you three assisted me in decimating them."

"You seem a bit suicidal during the battle." Yukari remarked.

"When you fight at your all with the thought that you have nothing to lose, you become a deadly combatant." Asuka replied before sensing the incoming presence. Moments passed before a roar erupted behind them. Turning, they caught sight of a large minotaur Tomogara with a multi-barrel cannon for a left arm.

"Take cover!" Yutaro spoke as the Tomogara fired multiple laser blasts. The shots went wide and missed their targets as Yuji, Yukari, and Asuka took cover while Yutaro attacked the newcomer with only his bare hands.

The minotaur pounded its chest with its right fist before countering Yutaro, sending the Mystes flying into a wall. But Yutaro managed to get back to his feet before conjuring and throwing a large fire lance at the Tomogara, who fired a large beam of light. The shot intercepted and negated the flaming lance and Yutaro was too late to evade as he took the blast directly.

"DAMN IT!" Yutaro yelled as he felt his form disintegrate, leaving the Mahiru Maigo exposed to the outside world.

"Yutaro!" Yuji shouted in disbelief as he saw his elder twin getting vaporized by the attack.

Yukari, tears coming out of her eyes, couldn't make a sound at what she just saw while Asuka could only stare at the scene in speechlessness.

The Tomogara cackled with laughter but that turned into horror as the Mahiru Maigo glowed a bright orange with a red corona around it. Flames erupted from the Hougu and took the shape of a flaming bird with multiple long tails and huge wings. The apparition lasted for a few seconds and the flames then formed into a large sphere before dissipating a second later to reveal Yutaro Sakai, who appeared unharmed.

"How?!" Yuji quipped while Yukari and Asuka were too shocked to say anything.

The Tomogara's hesitation from seeing his prey being resurrected back to life was all Yutaro needed to conjured a very large ball of energy before throwing it, eradicating his foe on the spot.

"So uncivilized." Yutaro remarked before manipulating the power of existence that his fallen foe released to repair the area. Once that was done, Yutaro and Yuji Shadow-walked with Yukari and Asuka to a private enclosure within the Shinto shrine that the latter was in charge of looking after.

"Yutaro, how did…?" Yukari tried to ask.

"Bennu's death and resurrection into Garuda left a side effect in which the Mahiru Maigo has the ability to resurrect its Mystes like a phoenix." Yutaro replied. "Someone can kill me but I just automatically return back to life, though that special secret is something that shouldn't be openly displayed. I wasn't sure about it myself until after that near-death experience."

Yukari strode towards Yutaro before slapping him.

"That was for almost giving me a heart attack!" the young girl snapped. "Really, it's not funny to scare someone with your death!"

"Geez, Yukari. I'm sorry about scaring you and the others." Yutaro replied sheepishly.

"Would it be possible to restore Johan back to life?" Yuji asked.

"No. Mahiru Maigo can only resurrect the Mystes that has it. But there is a theoretical possibility that Hecate's Synchronization ability can create a loophole and she can allow anyone to return to life." Yutaro replied. "Hence the need to avoid the disclosure of the Mahiru Maigo's existence."

"That is rather serious." Asuka remarked.

"Bennu's memories and knowledge have been left behind within the Mahiru Maigo when the Soul of the Solstice died and resurrected as Garuda. The wealth of information is very valuable and very vast." Yutaro spoke.

"Hence how he trained himself along with Yuji and I in basic combat and easy Unrestricted Methods first before moving things up."

"The Reiji Maigo also has its own specialties besides being able to replenish power of existence and the use of Quintessence, common features that our respective Hougus have." Yuji added as he took over. "What Johan and Pheles never discovered was that the Reiji Maigo is capable of learning the Unrestricted Methods that are cast against the Mystes via a feature called Instructive Osmosis. For instance, if I manage to experience specialties such as the Inbelna or the Guren no Oodachi, I can learn how to activate them in a short time. All the information to casting them is retained by the Reiji Maigo itself."

"Nice feature." Asuka remarked. "I have retained the Seiren Maigo for so long and even though it does contain an ability that is unique, neither I nor my predecessor had been able to identify it, let alone utilize it. Unlike the Mahiru Maigo, which refills at noon, and the Reiji Maigo, which refills at midnight, the Seiren Maigo can replenish the Mystes power of existence every time there is a shortage, keeping the reservoir always at full capacity."

"She certainly has us beat in that aspect." Yutaro remarked to Yuji.

"Considering that the three Hougus can restore power of existence, utilize Quintessence, and store the memories of their Mystes predecessors, they coincidentally have things in common and that's very much where it stops." Yuji replied.

"Indeed we can all talk about the Mahiru Maigo, the Reiji Maigo, and the Seiren Maigo throughout the day but we still should find some way to eradicate the Pandora Glas before they can regroup." Yukari spoke.

"Indeed. They gambled by throwing the bulk of their armies onto the killing fields to take us out of the picture and claim the Strata Arch. We can't let them get their hands on it." Asuka spoke, holding the said Hougu weapon in her hand.

"Staging an assault on the Azuchi castle is our only shot." Yuji spoke.

"A direct assault on the Azuchi castle?" Yutaro quipped. "You've gone right out of your head, bro. It's madness!"

Both Yukari and Asuka nodded in agreement.

"No, it can work." Yuji reasoned. "The Pandora Glas is weakened and they won't have that many guards to secure the perimeters. We use a pincer movement to draw the bulk of their guards to one side while assaulting the other side to infiltrate and take out both the leaders and the Ritual of Pithos with the Strata Arch. I think the reason they amassed so many to attack was because they're close to bringing out Armageddon and we're the only major threat to their goal. At the moment, they'll think we're too occupied or too tired to stop them so they'll proceed. In a way, it's almost a Trifecta: take out the leaders, disrupt the Ritual, and recover those Illuminati Tomes that they have locked at the Azuchi."

Yutaro, Yukari, and Asuka thought about the plan. It was completely outrageous and inconceivable but the success would definitely be huge and monumental.

"You might be right. But we'll need to prepare as fast as we can. We can stage the assault once night falls." Asuka spoke.

"That just leaves around eight hours for us to use." Yukari added.

IIII::::IIII

"I didn't know that the Illuminati had encountered the Guze." Yuji remarked as he and Yutaro were crafting timed-explosives while sitting around the campfire behind the temple with crates of ingredients and various equipment.

"Just the group that kept their hideouts in Crete." Yutaro replied. "They were descendents of the Knights Templar that had been disbanded by Pope Clement V due to pressure from King Phillip IV of France, who then eradicated them in order to avoid paying his debts to the group. Those that survived the purge vanished with some becoming Flame Hazes while others either lived their lives out quietly, joined other religious groups, or devoted themselves to toppling the Catholic Church. The latter was the seed to forming the Illuminati that opposed the power of the Catholic Church at that time. There were many Illuminati groups across Western Europe and only one group discovered the existence of the Guze. Some from that group became Flame Haze such as the current Manipulator of Objects."

"Wilhelmina Carmel? That purple-haired woman in the maid's outfit and carries that green oversized backpack?" Yuji asked as he accessed the Reiji Maigo's memory bank.

Yutaro nodded. "That's her. Wilhelmina Carmel came from a royal family that was part of the Illuminati. I'd be careful about her, though. She is rather cold and arrogant."

"It's a good thing that you're the only one to have met her during your solo trip to Germany." Yuji replied. "From what you're saying, Wilhelmina Carmel is certainly someone I don't want to meet in a dark alley. Still, she was rather caring for the Engage Link."

"True but she is quite an eye-catcher if it wasn't for that maid outfit and that cold and emotionless expression. Even though it isn't hard to find hot beauties around Europe, she and Pheles are above the majority of them." Yutaro remarked.

"Would you date her?" Yuji asked.

"No, because she's older than me. 'nuff said." Yutaro replied. "How about you?"

"Maybe but I doubt she would go for anyone after Merihim rejected her." Yuji answered. "Besides, we both have time before finding someone special. The same can be said for Yukari."

"I feel bad for her ever since her family was consumed and she was subjected to the fate of a Torch. It's fortunate that Mom allowed her to live with us." Yutaro remarked.

"I know." Yuji replied. "Perhaps those tomes that the Illuminati wrote about the Guze might have the answers needed to help Yukari."

"Or they could just contain information on certain Unrestricted Methods that have yet to see the light of day or some other findings." Yutaro remarked. "By the way, what are Asuka and Yukari doing?"

"They finished writing down ideas while examining maps of the Azuchi Castle. At the same time, Asuka is expanding Yukari's reservoir capacity and giving her as much power of existence that the Seiren Maigo can generate." Yuji replied.

"Two more hours until we move out." Yutaro spoke as he looked at his watch. "Let's wrapped this up and get ready. I think we have more than enough explosives to blast Hawaii off the map."

IIIIII::::IIIIII

Read and review.


	11. Genesis of the Mystes Triumvirate Part 2

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

Another chapter added as usual.

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Genesis of the Mystes Triumvirate Part II

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The Azuchi Castle had an interesting location, which was situated on elevated ground to watch over what went into and out of Kyoto. Built in the 16th century by Oda Nobunaga, the structure was the epitome of luxury combined with a fortress defense to intimidate rivals. It wasn't until a few years later that the structure was incinerated that nothing but the stone bases were left behind, all after one of Nobunaga's generals, Akechi Mitsuhide, betrayed him.

Asuka had bore witness to the events as a silent bystander but she had visited there and was given a tour, knew the place inside and out enough to sketch a map of the place. Even though it was burned down, the Azuchi had been reconstructed down to the last intimate detail as her second tour confirmed. Her old information and knowledge of the grounds and structure would be very invaluable.

At the moment, the Mystes of the Seiren Maigo was currently making plans with Yukari to assault the Azuchi.

"I swear, your surrogate brothers have a way of creating unnecessary trouble than what we ask for." Asuka remarked.

"I can't help but agree. Yet, strangely, it worked and no one stopped me from getting in." Yukari replied as she thought about what happened five hours earlier.

FLASHBACK

_At a restaurant, a lot of people were eating and it just so happened that both Asuka and Yukari were there with the goal to steal an emerald brooch that would access the hidden levels beneath the Azuchi's foundation. Currently, the brooch was in possession of the restaurant owner, who was a rather shady character that wouldn't let Yukari buy the brooch despite the amount she was offering. Thus, Plan B had to be enacted with the manager at the cash register while two scruffy-looking young men just happened to bump into each other while reeking with alcohol._

"_Watch it, bud!" Reiji snapped._

"_Who you calling bud, pal?!" Mahiru retorted._

"_Who you calling pal, friend?!" Reiji countered._

"_Who you calling friend, jackass?!" Mahiru retorted._

"_Don't call me a jackass!" Reiji warned._

"_I just did call you a jackass!" Mahiru snapped before nailing a right hook at Reiji, who retaliated with an uppercut that landed home. All hell broke loose as the pair threw punches while trying to overwhelm each other in a fistfight, causing multiple bystanders to intervene in order to quell the fight._

_No one saw Yukari slip into manager's office and slip right back out with a small box and a rather long package._

FLASHBACK ENDS

Asuka and Yukari sighed as they thought about the incident, despite being staged, had certainly attracted a lot of attention. It was fortunate that Yuji and Yutaro wore elaborate disguises and gave themselves "creative names" to prevent true identification. For Yukari, not only did she steal the brooch, she also stole a peculiar sword that had a chainsaw blade and it was later on that Asuka informed her that the weapon in question was a Hougu called the Rotational Edge.

"It's hard to imagine on how hard it must be for you to deal with them." Asuka remarked.

"I can't help but agree in regards to their apparent lack of maturity at times. I live with them and, despite their minute faults, the Sakai family has looked after me, including the brothers." Yukari replied. "My real parents are dead, devoured of their power of existence. Though I am a Torch, both of them gave me hope and saw that I had a future ahead of me. Words cannot describe how grateful I am for their support in keeping me from falling to despair."

"That's good." Asuka replied as she finished her tea. "Anyways, thanks for giving me good ideas on what type of Rinne to make."

"No problem." Yukari replied. "Let's go see if Yuji and Yutaro are ready."

IIII::::IIII

Somewhere on the grounds near the Azuchi at eight o'clock…

"Enemy in sight!" a Tomogara sentry called out as a large Fuzetsu was cast. "Numbers in the tens of thousands!"

Multiple sentries confirmed the sightings as the vast armies of ghostly Torches, all of them resembling Roman legionnaires and centurions with rectangular shields and long spears established a perimeter on one side of the Azuchi. Even more, the Torches brought catapults and ballista launchers into range.

Yukari, having suggested to Asuka to create a Roman army for the assault, stood on top of one of the ballista launchers before directing her given forces into position, yelling out in Latin as she did so.

The Pandora Glas, all behind the walls of the Azuchi, watched as the enemies moved about amid setting up a siege. While they had dug themselves in the Azuchi for better protection and maneuvered the majority of their forces to the front, they had no idea of a small strike force that was going to catch them in a vicious pincer movement from behind.

Yuji, Yutaro, and Asuka watched from the cover of darkness with a number of Torches, also Roman legionnaires.

"Yukari and her legions are in position." Asuka spoke.

"Alright then." Yuji replied before texting his surrogate sister via cell phone with the message: "Your call."

From where she was, Yukari looked at the text message she received from Yuji before calling out. "Lapsis Nivium!"

Immediately, roars erupted among the Roman legions amid hearing the signal for them to attack. Through the darkness, flames erupted as Roman archers ignited their arrows before firing on the Azuchi while catapults and ballista launchers released their projectiles. Hundreds of arrows rained down on the Azuchi along with flaming jars of oil and large arrowhead bolts.

The Pandora Glas' Tomagara forces were pelted by the hellfire and a good number of them were either instantly killed or wounded by enemy projectiles finding their mark. Fending against the barrage, the Azuchi defenders responded in kind as they sent balls of fire and various other forms of long range attacks on the Torches. Being at the front lines, the legionnaires moved their shields together, using the Testudo Formation to fend against the incoming fire before slowly advancing towards the Azuchi.

Yukari narrowed her eyes as the advance did what she had predicted as swarms of Tomogara charged forward.

"Audiatur et altera pars!" Yukari shouted another phrase, signaling the front lines to attack. The advancing legionnaires moved out of the Testudo formation before drawing their lances and swords to attack in the incoming Tomogara. Though they were weak, the Roman Torches proved able enough to swarm and decimate their stronger opponents with calculating precision and untamed ferocity. The Tomogara army from the Pandora Glas were casting Unrestricted Methods and utilizing their Hougu weapons to lethal effect, downing scores of the approaching enemy while suffering the disadvantages of being outnumbered and dealing against enemies that were in a hypersensitive frenzy. More Tomogara were pouring out of the Azuchi just as more Roman legionnaires joined the battle at the front lines.

Taking a crossbow, Yukari fired a single flaming arrow into the air, watching fly high into the sky before curving down and heading towards the roof of the Azuchi.

From where they were, Yuji caught sight of the flaming arrow before taking hold of the Rotational Edge that Yukari gave him earlier and sent word to Yutaro and Asuka, the latter signaling her force of armed Torches to storm the Azuchi from the rear.

The Mystes of the Mahiru Maigo, the Reiji Maigo, and the Seiren Maigo didn't encounter much opposition as they entered the enemy grounds. Indeed, many of the enemy Tomogara were caught off guard. Yukari's assault had drawn the bulk of the Pandora Glas to the front entrance and the only thing left was for the three Mystes and their strike force to close the gap to severely wipe out enemy forces, something that Yuji volunteered to do while Asuka and Yutaro went to find the leaders.

Heading to the front, Yuji wasn't disappointed to see Yukari and the remaining legions of Torches that were killing off the rest of the Azuchi defenders. Some groups went right past the pair, heading inwards to search for more Tomogara to slaughter on the grounds.

"Looks like you were right, Yuji." Yukari spoke. "The Pandora Glas weren't expecting an immediate assault from us or anyone else whatsoever."

Yuji shrugged as he spoke. "That's why they should trend cautiously and not think that their enemies can't go on the offensive immediately off the bat on the same day. Let's go help Asuka and Yutaro."

Yukari nodded before following Yuji, who homed his senses in on the locations of the Mahiru Maigo and the Seiren Maigo before finding Yutaro and Asuka near a stonewall with a flight of stairs leading into underground caverns.

"Well, all other areas have been searched." Yukari spoke.

"Now or never." Yutaro replied as he and Asuka descended down into the caverns where they caught sight of several figures wearing cloaks and resembling scholars of the European Middle Ages. A spilt second later, swirls of energy engulfed them as they were standing around a large insignia composed of patterns and Greek inscriptions on the ground, which glowed brightly.

"We're too late." Asuka whispered, sensing power of existence from the cloaked figures being taken from them to charge the large insignia, which erupted in a burst of light. Once the flash idled down, Asuka and the others were in complete shock as a blond-haired well-endowed woman with pale skin and wearing a feminine long tunic over her curvaceous body. The appearance was shocking enough but the fact that the newcomer stood at fifty-feet in height spelled trouble with a capital T.

"Not good." Yuji spoke amid glimpsing the giantess that stood and radiated power similar to that of a Guze no Ou but much stronger and he sensed something different about it. "So I take it you are Pandora, the Hand of Plagues?"

"LITTLE ANTS. YOU ALL SHALL BE THE FIRST TO FEEL MY WRATH." The blond giantess declared as she looked at the three Mystes and the Torch before her very long golden hair extended and sailed towards them like vipers making their strikes.

Asuka, Yuji, Yukari, and Yutaro evaded the attack amid scattering away. Yuji whipped out the Rotational Edge while Asuka drew the Strata Arch, leaving Yutaro and Yukari to provide long-range and observational support.

Pandora proved to be a formidable, given her size advantage and power as the giantess tried to stomp on her smaller foes.

'When dealing with giant creatures, first target their eyes.' Asuka thought as she sprinted and took aim with Strata Arch before firing energy arrows at Pandora, who was busy trying to stomp on Yuji. Her shots were too wide off the mark, forcing the Mystes of the Seiren Maigo to bide her time.

"Hey, Pandora!" Yuji taunted with a roguish grin amid easily dodging Pandora's stomping feet and deflecting her incoming hair beams. "Every time you try to stomp me flat like that, I can see up your tunic's skirt! I guess the Greeks don't believe in proper lingerie, eh?"

"WHY YOU LITTLE…?!" Pandora screamed as her face turned red before bringing her right hand upwards, channeling power of existence and sending multiple bolts of lightning at the Mystes. Yuji barely managed to block the blast but the explosive impact threw him backwards such that he slammed into a wall.

It was at that moment did Asuka make her move as she sent arrows towards Pandora's eyes, blasting them into nothing. Pandora cried out amid her eyes being blasted asunder. As she tried to regenerate her eyes back, Yuji dashed forward and swung the Rotational Edge, slash the back of Pandora left leg above the calf and causing the giantess to fall on one knee.

Completely angry at being edged to a disadvantage, Pandora slammed the ground as she activated the Unrestricted Method Rensen, sending her long golden hair in all directions. While Asuka and Yuji managed to evade, Yutaro managed to catch the incoming hair beams before concentrating his will into what he was holding when he was rewarded with a pair of chained sickles a second later.

"I guess Bennu's library of knowledge is as good as gold." Yutaro remarked, having borrowed a bit of Pandora's power of existence to merge with his own in creating a weapon Hougu.

"Since she used a spell called the Rensen and this was born from it, it's only fair that it gets the same name." Yukari remarked as she and Yutaro took cover.

Pandora had made a mistake in assuming that the fight would be a quick victory for her. Instead, the Hand of Plagues, despite her fifty-foot height advantage and power, found herself being taken down a bit fast after being blinded.

"IF I CAN'T WIN, I'LL TAKE YOU ALL WITH ME!" Pandora declared as her body began to glow in a fiery light.

"Oh hell no!" Asuka quipped as she jumped and latched onto Pandora's arm, activating several Unrestricted Methods before her corporeal form slowly began to fade. At the same time, Pandora's now immobilized form began to dissipate in size and appearance until she simply broke apart, leaving burning copper flames on the ground.

"Asuka!" Yutaro and Yukari called out simultaneously, noticing that the Mystes of the Seiren Maigo was slowly fading.

"Pandora would've done more than just bring the caverns down on us." Asuka spoke. "She would've unleashed some real problems so I have to utilize the Method of Unrestraint called the Apoptosis to prevent the anomalies from breaking down the laws of nature."

"You may have stopped me from utilizing the Anesidora but your life is now mine." A feminine voice cut through from the copper flames, which blazed into a cocoon before burning away to reveal Pandora at a normal height of five-foot five.

"Not while some of us can still fight." Yutaro spoke as he and Yuji stood to engage the Hand of Plagues.

Pandora shook her head before instantly tapping the ground, activating spells that erupted around and immobilized the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo and the Mahiru Maigo in place.

"You boys should know that it is evil to strike at a girl, hence the reason why you both are frozen in place." Pandora spoke.

"Well, that's generally true unless the woman turns out to be a major bitch with a face so hideous that all the mirrors shatter." Yutaro taunted.

"Or if the woman is more beastly than beauty to attack younger men like a cougar trying to get some." Yuji added.

Pandora's face turned red from the comments such that she punched both Yuji and Yutaro yet it didn't stop the two Mystes from spewing further insults, some of which had some major suggestive themes that are much too adult for young children to hear.

Amid all of that, Yukari was busy trying to tend to Asuka, who stopped her from helping her further.

"I knew that using the Unrestricted Method Apoptosis would kill me." Asuka confessed. "That is very much something that causes more harm to the user than the target but knowing that it worked to level out Pandora's threat to the world was very much worth the tradeoff. Now Pandora can be killed like a regular Tomogara."

"Asuka, you can't just die." Yukari protested.

"I choose to because I grow tired of this endless accumulation of experience that is called life." Asuka replied before grabbing and pulling Yukari into a hug. "You have a future that I can only envy you for. Therefore, I think it's fitting that you become the third Mystes of the Seiren Maigo."

"Asuka, don't do this." Yukari whispered, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"Don't worry. I will be watching over you in spirit." Asuka replied as she slowly began to fade while pushing the Seiren Maigo into Yukari, who felt the Hougu take a very firm root into her being. At the same time, the Shinto priestess had the young girl take hold of the Strata Arch. "I do this because you've given this soul such wonderful company despite the brief time in which I felt very much alive. You have a future that I won't allow the fate to take from you. The Seiren Maigo, along with the Strata Arch, are my gifts to you, Yukari Hirai. We will see each other again one day but don't look too forward towards it."

Yukari could only nod amid fighting back tears as she watched Asuka fade away into sprites of light.

"Asuka, you still live on within my heart and memory." Yukari whispered as the last remnants of the Shinto priestess vanished. Feeling the Seiren Maigo fuel her being, Yukari stood and turned to see Pandora beat the hell out of a frozen Yuji and Yutaro before conjuring an energy arrow in the Strata Arch and firing it at the Hand of Plagues, forcing her back.

"You little wench!" Pandora snarled as she charged at Yukari, who dropped the Strata Arch and simply kicked her enemy in the midsection before taking her off her feet with a sweep kick. Pandora lashed out at Yukari with her long hair but the Mystes evaded with ease before landing several punches to her face in response.

"Those spells might have kept Yuji and Yutaro from attacking you but it won't stop me from dropping your ass in a catfight." Yukari spoke as she elbowed Pandora's back before clamping her head in a front headlock and falling backwards, driving her foe's crown into the ground. Pandora clutched her head in pain and Yukari got to her feet before deliberately kicking her in the ribs. The Hand of Plagues managed to force Yukari aside with an energy blast. Recuperating from the blast, the new Mystes of the Seiren Maigo decided to finish the fight as she picked up the Strata Arch before using the Hougu's blades to slash at her foe. Pandora managed to block the strikes with her arms and long hair before feeling several arrows pierce her mid-section.

"How?" Pandora croaked.

Yukari, having lured Pandora into a feign with the slashing attacks, had prepared to generate enough energy arrows within a split second before simultaneously firing them at point-blank range.

"It's over, Pandora. You won't threaten this world any more!" Yukari declared before conjuring a large ball of fire, which incinerated the Hand of Plagues completely until nothing remained.

After dispelling the spells binding Yuji and Yutaro, Yukari helped the pair back to their feet.

"It's over." Yutaro whispered. "Let's head back."

"Agreed." Yukari replied. "But one last thing before we depart tomorrow."

IIII::::IIII

The next morning, on a small cliff overlooking the grassy meadows, Yuji, Yukari, and Yutaro erected a small gravestone under a tree that had Asuka's name and a small epitaph that read: A Dear Friend and Sister. May the Angels Guide Her Soul to Eternal Rest.

"Don't worry, Asuka. I will protect the Seiren Maigo and the Strata Arch." Yukari whispered.

"Yutaro and I will do our best to protect her and each other." Yuji added.

"Until the day we meet again, Asuka…" Yutaro finished.

As the sun rose into the sky, the day felt like a beginning of sorts for the Mystes bearing the Mahiru Maigo, the Reiji Maigo, and the Seiren Maigo. They didn't know what to expect down the road but the trio felt ready to face anything that Fate, Destiny, and Chaos had in store for them.

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Yuji felt uneasy amid Pheles looking straight into his eyes with her face so close to his the moment he finished telling events of the past before he actually turned and noticed. For the moment, the Mystes felt that he could get lost while looking into the Guze Queen's emerald eyes, which were filled with curiosity yet he thought he saw a flicker of something else. Was it a flicker of interest?

Pheles, having finished hearing Yuji speak about the Mystes Triumvirate forming the moment the Seiren Maigo was forced into Yukari, felt nothing echo from the Reiji Maigo. Since she did have a part in its creation, the Guze Queen could actually see the events that Yuji had just finished telling her within her mind.

"Um… Pheles?" Yuji asked.

"That's quite a story and your eyes don't betray you. Obviously, you're rather wise on being honest to women." Pheles spoke while thinking. _'Impressive, Sakai Yuji. There's more to you than it seems and you certainly have not disappointed me.'_

"More like cautious." Yuji remarked, his left eye twitching that Pheles caught sight of it.

"Do you have something to hide from me?" Pheles asked with a slight tone that sounded a bit close to a scolding one. The moment she saw his eye twitch, the Guze Queen had a certain feeling of something else regarding the Mystes before her.

"Eh, what would I have to hide from you?" Yuji asked nervously.

"Alright, Yuji. I have a feeling that there is another big story that you're not willing to tell me even if I asked." Pheles spoke as she walked towards Yuji, who began to back away from the Beautiful Whim.

"What other story could their be?" Yuji asked, knowing that Pheles was getting close to a major truth that he wasn't keen on telling anyone.

The moment he sensed Pheles quicken her pace towards him, Yuji took off running like a cat out of hell.

"Hey, get back here!" Pheles shouted as she went after the youth. "You're not getting off the hook that easily!"

IIIIII::::IIIIII

Meanwhile at an Outlaw…

A young girl with long black hair and wearing a trench-coat over her blouse and skirt looked at the poster in her hand that read:

**The Mystes of the Reiji Maigo has been confirmed to be in Misaki, Japan. Provided is a photo to identify the Mystes, whose name remains unknown. A bounty of 3,000,000 Euros has placed for information that will lead to his capture and imprisonment. He is considered armed and dangerous with the possibility of accomplices helping him. Take him dead or alive. Kill all witnesses if need. **

"Hmm… Alastor, what do you think?" the young girl asked.

"This is certainly something that we should look into." Alastor replied. "I take it we are heading back now?"

The young girl that was the Slayer with the Flaming Hair and Red Eyes nodded.

IIII::::IIII

Somewhere in the Sahara Desert…

The young woman with purple hair and wearing a long French maid outfit while carrying a large green backpack looked about.

"Balle Masque." Wilhelmina spoke. "The Seireiden's movements are becoming erratic, de arimasu."

"Reiji Maigo." Tiamat replied.

"Once this place is cleaned up, we will head there, de arimasu." Wilhelmina spoke before walking eastbound.

IIIII:::::IIIII

End of Chapter

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BONUS SCENE: What Yuji AND Yutaro are hiding from Pheles, Leanan-sidhe, Chigusa, and Yukari.

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Beginning of the summer before Friagne was defeated…

**Shakedown 1979  
Cool kids never have the time  
On a live wire right up off the street  
You and I should meet  
Junebug skipping like a stone  
With the headlights pointed at the dawn  
We were sure we'd never see an end to it all**

**I don't even care to shake these zipper blues  
And we don't know  
Just where our bones will rest  
To dust I guess  
Forgotten and absorbed to the earth below**

Sliding the crowbar in, Yuji forced open the door to the Dodge Chaser, allowing Yutaro to bypass the ignition with his hot-wiring techniques. A minute later, the car was roaring with life such that the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo and the Mystes of the Mahiru Maigo went on a joy ride in some obscure town on the West Coast of the U.S.A.

"You're right. Yukari would definitely have stopped us from breaking into cars just for this." Yuji remarked, knowing that the Mystes of the Seiren Maigo that was their surrogate sister is at home with their mother.

"I have to agree with you on that." Yutaro replied as he drove the Dodge Charger onto the open road.

Amid their trip on the road to a suburban neighborhood, Yuji saw a Ford F-150 filled with some rowdy boys, all of them likely high school seniors and possibly jocks, pull up next to him on the right before seeing them throw a few obscene gestures along with a few inappropriate antics.

"Don't get mad, get even." Yuji whispered and Yutaro merely nodded before driving onwards. The Ford F-150 followed alongside that Yuji noticed that the driver didn't have his eyes fully on the road. Yutaro noticed a narrowing in the road amid approaching a bridge that went over a small river. The moment the car and the truck approached the narrow section, the Mystes swerved the Dodge Charger into the Ford F-150, forcing the driver to pull away. Unfortunately, the said driver found himself driving off the road and losing control on the slippery bank such that he and his merry gang of delinquent friends ended up getting stuck in the river.

After crossing the bridge and seeing no other traffic on the road, Yutaro stopped the car as he and Yuji went to see the people in the Ford F-150, all of whom were alright but were soaked in water and mud as they got out of the truck.

"Ha, now you know that karma really is a bitch!" Yutaro taunted. "Mess with the best and you'll get burned like the rest!"

"Yeah, suck it up, fuckers!" Yuji shouted as he waved both of his hands, shooting a pair of middle fingers at them before adding further insult to injury by doing a crotch chop that was preceded by a pelvic thrust. Both Mystes then drove off laughing at the expense of the high school kids they had just drove off the road.

**Double cross the vacant and the bored  
They're not sure just what we have in store  
Morphine city slippin' dues down to see**

**We don't even care as restless as we are  
We feel the pull in the land of a thousand guilts  
And poured cement, lamented and assured  
To the lights and towns below  
Faster than the speed of sound  
Faster than we thought we'd go  
Beneath the sound of hope**

**  
**Entering the suburbs, Yuji and Yutaro looked around the area, keeping an eye out for any liquor stores and bars that they could sell their products at. Eventually, dusk fell such that both of them drove into a neighborhood before noticing a lot of cars parked outside a large house that was hosting a party, one that involved loud rock music to rile the neighbors along with a modern version to a summer of love minus the drugs while adding some "safe" amounts of alcohol into the equation.

There were people going in and out such that Yuji and Yutaro had some second thoughts. But their decision to leave was taken from them when some rather hot blondes caught sight of the pair before literally dragging them into the house. There was no doubt that the handsome traits and magnetic charm that are inherited by all males of the Sakai family bloodline had ensnared them and soon both Yuji and Yutaro found themselves meeting all sorts of people such that they utilized their fake alias.

When the music changed and the party became heightened with activity, both Mystes found themselves dancing with several hot girls respectively. It was at that moment that Yutaro merely gave Yuji a hesitant look that said, "Go with the flow." And that was what they did. While the girls they were dancing with seem to have some real unclean moves, Yuji and Yutaro, having been to several clubs all over Europe and Canada, couldn't help but take things up a notch with what could be called dirty dancing. Can one really blame the two for giving in to their hormonal triggers?

Amid dancing in a manner that was rather adult-like and a bit inappropriate, both Yuji and Yutaro were immediately swarmed as the girls they were in close proximity to looked as if they were getting aroused by their movements. Both Mystes felt the girls rub onto them with their bodies, which seemed to "involuntarily" compel them to escalate their dancing that led dangerously close to a level that had more than just cleavage flashing, hip racking, and the intimate rubbing of bodies as several songs were played in succession.

To Yuji and Yutaro, they were having a blast, knowing that they couldn't have experienced anything like this at home in Japan. At the moment, both of them were single high school males anyways, leaving them a wide berth to enjoy their freedom amid being surrounded by hot girls.

**  
Justine never knew the rules,  
Hung down with the freaks and the ghouls  
No apologies ever need be made  
I know you better than you fake it to see**

**We don't even care to shake these zipper blues  
And we don't know just where our bones will rest  
To dust I guess  
Forgotten and absorbed into the earth below**

Rolls of paper were thrown into the air and Yutaro joined several other high school teens in yard rolling several trees in the neighborhood, leaving evidence of mischief behind in their wake. The sound of an F-150 drew attention such that Yutaro and the other teens took cover. From his hiding spot, the Mystes of the Mahiru Maigo recognized the newcomers and the vehicle, which was slightly covered in some muddy slime.

"Damn!" Yutaro quipped as he saw the same jocks he had run off the road earlier that day appear at the party. It was by luck that he managed to slip out of sight before noticing the Ford F-150 that they came was parked near a large tree, thus giving him an idea.

Yuji, who was upstairs and recuperating after scoring a home run with a blond-haired nineteen-year old busty beauty named Justine on a bed in the attic, sensed Yutaro's warning amid feeling the Reiji Maigo resonate within his being. For the moment, he was trying to catch his breath after losing his virginity to the strenuous activity that was typically reserved for hormonal couples behind closed doors while mentally making a note to take a shower in order to wash this girl's heavily scent-filled essence off of him.

'At least she won't be pregnant.' Yuji thought, having negated the chance using one of Johan's Unrestricted Methods. After all, sex was like math: Add a bed, Subtract the clothes, Divide the legs, and hope you don't Multiply.

Justine, who was completely in sans clothing condition, arched her back in arousal amid Yuji groping and feeling her up while ignoring the guilt that she was cheating on her boyfriend Tony, who was incidentally part of the group that Yutaro ran off the road, by having wild passionate sex with a stranger. But desirable lust and the fact that she was heavily drunk seemed to have a lot more force in shoving that thought away as Justine continued allowing Yuji to have free rein over her body, enjoying the sensations of his touch while somewhat willing to give the Mystes the pleasures that only a woman can give. Overall, Justine had some thoughts about taking Yuji over her current boyfriend due to the thrilling pleasures that she was experiencing after losing her virginity.

The moment the Mystes's sharp senses detected someone approaching the attic, he quickly ceased the intimacy with the busty blonde, who quickly put all of her clothes back on, before Yuji, having quickly finished putting all of his clothes back on, cast a Fuzetsu and carried Justine down to the empty guest room, knowing that she would have no idea on what occurred. After getting some distance and deactivating the Fuzetsu, Yuji made his way back down through the party.

"Hey! It's him!" an angry voice shouted and Yuji looked like a deer caught in the headlights of car amid catching sight of the high school jocks that he and Yutaro had run off the road such that he quickly made a run for the exit.

"Get back here!" one of the young men shouted as he and his friends pursued Yuji with the intention to beat him up real badly.

"Reiji!" Yutaro called out from the Dodge Charger, which was warmed up and ready to go. Yuji ran and jumped through the open passenger window before safely taking his seat as Yutaro drove off.

"Step on it, Mahiru!" Yuji spoke.

Seconds later, the high school jocks immediately got into their truck to give chase, unaware of some metal chains that were clamped tightly to the rear axel while their other ends were wrapped firmly around the tree.

As the F-150 moved to a high speed to chase the Dodge Charger that Yutaro and Yuji were in, the tree proved very strong to hold itself together as the chains extended to their maximum length, yanking the rear axel from underneath the truck.

As Yuji and Yutaro drove off into the night, both Mystes laughed hard at the handiwork and sabotage, which left their would-be pursuers behind to throw fits of rage at getting suckered twice in one day.

**The street heats the urgency of now  
As you see there's no one around**

~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~

**NOTES:**

**Common features of the Mahiru Maigo, Reiji Maigo, and Seiren Maigo.**

1) They spontaneously restore power of existence but under different conditions respectively.

2) The connection to Quintessence allows their Mystes to utilize the fifth element.

3) Able to store the memories of their Mystes predecessors or anyone involved in their creation.

**Special and unique secrets of each Hougu (**_**author's comments**_**)**

**Mahiru Maigo's Absolute Rebirth allows the immediate resurrection of its Mystes after death. **

_**(Yutaro gets killed but the Hougu brings him back to life instantly. Now if the Mahiru Maigo has all of the Psalms of the Grand Order, all the Balle Masque needs to do then is kill him once and from the ashes comes Snake of the Festival Sakai Yutaro.)**_

**Reiji Maigo's Instructive Osmosis allows the Hougu to learn any Unrestrictive Method that any of its Mystes bearers had experienced or been in contact with. **

_**(Yuji will likely know all of Johan's inventions and other things that his predecessor had experienced first-hand later on.)**_

**Seiren Maigo's Spontaneity of Eternal Realization grants strange powers to its Mystes. **

_**(Yukari created the Six Steps of Genesis, which reverses a Torch back to a normal human being. But there might be other abilities that she might be able to do.)**_

~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~I~

Lyrics belong to 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. I was watching the music video and I just couldn't help but write a small segment on Yuji and Yutaro acting like juvenile delinquents. Sure, Yuji might be a good person but even those types have a wild side of their own.

I think it's obvious that Pheles isn't a virgin and neither is Johan. While they didn't procreate, that doesn't mean that they've been "busy" so why can't I make Yuji engage in such pastimes in the U.S.A. in that segment BEFORE the prologue of this story?


	12. Turning the Heat at a Water Park

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

IIIII::::IIIII

In the garage with three fans blowing a cold breeze around him, Keisaku sighed as he thought about the current state of his house's living room while fixing the gas pedal mechanism on the Toyota Prius. The day was very hot and the youth thought about recent events ever since Margery came to the city. The youth got a crash course on the Guze and such, yet it paled to the surprising revelation that Yuji, his older twin Yutaro, and their surrogate sister Yukari were not only aware but were also involved in the fighting with such lethal and complex skills of combat, something that really surprised the busty blond-haired Flame Haze herself. Of course, Keisaku later learned that the Sakai siblings operated an illegal alcohol business and engaged in excessive bootlegging all over the world. The amount of profit reaped was so high that it wasn't long before Keisaku joined in on a part-time position. The pay itself was rather abundant, considering that he would have had to make trips to the currency exchange center before Margery opened an account for him and one for herself.

As he certainly enjoyed earning a rather decent income that would put even some white-collar part-time jobs to shame, Keisaku was thinking about just making it through the day's drought of death once he finished fixing the car's gas pedal, knowing that Margery was lying on the couch with the AC on full blast and several bottles of alcoholic beverages on the floor. Seeing Margery give Yuji a rather sensual embrace when he came by to deliver beverage samples and some of her favorite drinks that morning had Keisaku feeling a bit displeased, especially when it looked like the busty Flame Haze was trying to seduce the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo with her body with that embrace.

'Damn you, Sakai.' Keisaku thought to himself. 'You already have that green-haired femme fatale all hot for you.'

Such thoughts ran through Keisaku's mind but the tickets to Misaki Waterland that Yuji left for him and Margery would certainly give a small push to things.

IIIII::::IIIII

Outside of the warehouse was around a hundred and five degrees in Fahrenheit but the interior was around seventy-seven degrees due to some temperature and climate changes brought about by Unrestricted Methods that Leanan-sidhe cast.

"Misaki Waterland?" Pheles asked as she looked at the tickets that were on the table while closing one of the catalogues advertising fruit produce overseas.

"One of the locals tried to pull a fast one on Yutaro with counterfeit cash but he later repented and gave the tickets in exchange for his order of wine." Leanan-sidhe replied as she and Yukari finished sorting out the recent paperwork for the record books.

"He was lucky because even I probably couldn't stop Yutaro or Yuji from taking the role of a collection agent individually or together." Yukari added with a small shake of her head.

"Collection agent? How bad could it be?" Pheles asked.

Leanan-sidhe looked at Yukari, who rolled her eyes with embarrassment before explaining to the two Guze Queens on what the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo did to a customer in Green Bay, Wisconsin. After all, Yuji was considered to be the least violent of the Sakai brothers.

~I~I~I~FLASHBACK~I~I~I~

Green Bay, Wisconsin…

"The wine is fabulous but I bet that little punk doesn't know that I emptied the checking account a few minutes before I gave him the slip." Kenneth was saying to his wife Sally as they watched the football game.

"That was rather underhanded but then again, minors shouldn't be selling alcohol in the first place." Sally replied.

"You know. Them kids should be arrested for that kind of stuff." Kenneth's father Patrick added before the doorbell rang.

"I'll go get it." Sally spoke as she stood up.

"I wonder who it could be at this hour?" Patrick asked.

Kenneth shrugged his shoulders while scowling amid seeing the Washington Redskins scoring a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers. A second later, a shrill scream erupted that Kenneth quickly sprang to his feet and ran to see Sally on the ground, screaming and pointing as a chainsaw blade sliced through the front door before it collapsed to reveal none other than Yuji. Kenneth caught sight of the Redskin jersey that Yuji was wearing but had a feeling that the youth wasn't here to prove that the Washington Redskins were the better NFL team than the Green Bay Packers.

The Mystes of the Reiji Maigo, dropping the chainsaw amid catching sight of Kenneth, took out a crowbar and went after the man, who fled into the interior of the house. Sensing the killing intent as he ventured in, Yuji barely evaded the blast of a rifle as Patrick, having gotten his hands on a Winchester hunting rifle, took aim and fired once more. But Yuji kicked up a small coffee table, which took the brunt of the rifle slug as it went airborne, before sending the damaged piece of furniture at the man, who batted it aside. The Mystes managed to close the distance before grabbing Patrick and swinging the portly man around the room and slamming into a wall. That was enough to cause Patrick, who had a history of heart problems to convulse as a panic attack was imminent.

As Yuji resumed to stalking Kenneth, Sally, who had managed to gather her mental bearings, reached her father-in-law, who looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Stay calm! I'll get help." Sally managed to speak before grabbing a nearby phone to dial 911.

Having searched the kitchen, Yuji entered the dining room when he felt a steel bar collide with his head, causing him to drop the crowbar as Kenneth came in swinging. Rolling to evade a downward blow, Yuji swung and nailed a stiff punch to Kenneth's face, knocking him to the ground. As he got to his feet, Yuji felt Kenneth grab and toss him head first into a display case, which shattered from the impact. The Mystes coughed amid feeling a sharp kick to his ribs before delivering a sweep kick that took his foe off his feet.

Running on adrenaline, Kenneth got to his feet landed a right cross at Yuji, who reeled backwards before blocking the incoming left cross and sending a knee into the man's stomach such that he doubled over. Then grabbing onto the back of Kenneth's shirt with one hand and the back of his head with his other hand, Yuji threw the man right through the window, which sent shards of glass and wood as it exploded outwards amid Kenneth landing on the front yard. Breaking some of the panes, Yuji crawled through the broken window and kicked Kenneth in the ribs, causing the man to clutch his sides in pain. The Mystes was about to resume pummeling the man that swindled the payment when he heard sirens approaching before catching sight of two police cars and an ambulance appearing.

"I'll come back and pick up where I left off." Yuji spoke with a deadly tone before fleeing the scene while ignoring the shouts of "STOP!" and "GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!"

Try as they might, the law enforcements officers failed to capture the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo, who Shadow-Walked back to Japan under the complete cover of darkness.

~I~I~I~FLASHBACK ENDS~I~I~I~

"Oh lord." Pheles groaned as she face-palmed. Internally, however, she couldn't help but actually laugh at the Mystes's audacity in going that far.

"Yuji broke into that guy's home and beat him up like that?" Leanan-sidhe asked.

"It was fortunate that Kenneth's wife Sally managed to get her father-in-law to a hospital. Otherwise, he would've had a real heart attack from Yuji's home invasion." Yukari replied.

"Wow." Pheles remarked.

"Fortunately, we rarely get certain situations like that." Yukari replied. "Hence why we made a very long list of bartenders and businesses that have good credentials and can be trusted to uphold their end of the deal."

"Profits have been steady and I won't be surprised if they continue onwards to higher levels just like the temperature today." Yukari replied.

"Care to share a story about my Yutaro acting… uncivilized?" Leanan-sidhe asked. The Guze Queen had a very strong feeling that the Mystes of the Mahiru Maigo might have done something wild and she wasn't disappointed to see Yukari sigh.

~I~I~I~FLASHBACK~I~I~I~

New Orleans, Louisiana…

Yutaro slammed and bounced Jim's head off the top of the gate before kicking the dazed man aside. The Mystes of the Mahiru Maigo, having arrived during a Mardi Gras celebration, had hoped to reap some real good profits before Jim and his gang of drunken truck drivers stole the cargo of Madeira that Yutaro had with him on a trolley. Even worse was that the pair of law enforcement officers nearby kept him from seeking payment for the damages. Rather than lash out immediately, Yutaro managed to salvage the two remaining bottles that were intact before heading off to a nearby pharmacy where he purchased some sleeping pills, which he used to saturate and taint the beverages. Returning with the spiked drinks, Yutaro gave them to the officers and watched them fall sound asleep on the ground. With the officers out cold, Yutaro then moved in on Jim and his gang, attacking with fury that he quickly knocked out four grown men before going after the main target. The Mystes was completely furious and was going to slowly break the main culprit.

"Get back here, bastard!" Yutaro shouted as he grabbed a handful of Jim's hair before throwing the fully-grown man face first into the column of a street light. It looked completely odd to see a six-foot, 250-pound man getting pummeled by a five-foot eight, 125-pound high school boy but the latter wasn't an ordinary schoolboy as he was using a bit of power of existence to slightly enhance the power of his blows.

"Hey, I see a bulletin board. A bulletin board!" Yutaro yelled as he grabbed Jim's head. "I think there's a message for ya! A message!"

With that, the Mystes slam-bounced the man's head against the information board that showed general overview of the docks.

"Want some more?! Stand up! Get up!" Yutaro shouted as he grabbed the dazed Jim before yanking him towards a small plot of grass and trees while landing some carefully placed punches to the man's back.

"Look around here! This is nature's playground! You gotta be one with nature! Take some of this, you tree-hugging son of a bitch!" Yutaro snapped as he threw a dazed Jim into a nearby tree. With the kind of beating he was getting, Jim could only think about getting away from Yutaro but the Mystes wasn't going to let him slither away as he kicked the man in the ribs, sending him back onto the docks.

"Hey, get on the ground!" a masculine voice called out and Yutaro caught sight of a large officer along with a female officer running towards them. Normally, that tended to break up fistfight brawls but apparently, it wasn't going to stop Yutaro.

"Stay back!" Yutaro shouted but the large officer moved to apprehend the Mystes, only to be sucker-punched and then kicked in the stomach, dropping him to the ground. Yutaro even assaulted the female officer by landing a well-placed crescent kick to the side of her head the moment she tried to take him down. Grabbing her, Yutaro tossed the female cop into a nearby dumpster and slammed the lid on her head before sensing the male cop running to tackle him. The Mystes nimbly dodged before grabbing the back of the man's head and sending him headfirst into the glass window of a nearby ice cream stand, shattering it to pieces and rendering the cop incapacitated.

Turning back, Yutaro felt the full blow of a fire extinguisher being slammed onto the side of his head as Jim, despite being dazed and bruised, delivered a bit of offense before trying to beat a hasty retreat. Staggering from the blow, Yutaro managed to see Jim trying to get away before running towards the man and kicking his back, causing him to topple onto the ground. Getting to his feet, Jim punched Yutaro before landing several more punches to his back. Out of desperation, Yutaro landed an uppercut on Jim before delivering another punch to the man's face, stunning him once more.

"Time to swim, Jim!" Yutaro spoke before grabbing Jim and tossing him off the docks and into the water.

~I~I~I~FLASHBACK ENDS~I~I~I~

"Two cops and five grown men sent to the hospital with lacerations, concussions, and other injuries in contrast to just two going to the hospital where one had some minor injuries and his dad almost getting a heart attack." Yukari remarked.

"I'm actually happy that my Yutaro showed a lot of restraint." Leanan-sidhe replied. "But I hope he doesn't get into anymore fights like that. It's not nice."

"Anyways, how about we go get some swimsuits and check the place out? It's a good time to get some time off and enjoy the cool water." Yukari suggested.

"Count me out. I'm not going." Pheles spoke, much to the surprise of Leanan-sidhe and Yukari.

Yet, the Guze Queen and the Mystes decided not to convince the Beautiful Whim otherwise, knowing that she was a stubborn one.

"Your choice but we'll leave you a ticket for another time that you decide to go." Yukari replied.

IIIII:::::IIIII

At the Sakai residence…

Just like at the warehouse, the interior of the Sakai home was as cool as a midnight summer breeze for Chigusa, Yuji, and Yutaro. Kantaro was at work in his part-time desk job in the city.

"So you two are planning to head to Misaki Waterland?" Chigusa asked, noticing her two sons carrying backpacks containing their swimming attire.

"Might as well check the place out since it just opened." Yutaro replied. "How about this summer we all go to Hawaii?"

"Ara, that would be nice." Chigusa remarked. "You two have fun. Are Yukari-chan and Leanan-chan going with you?"

"Yukari and Leanan-sidhe are in the green light." Yuji replied. "But then again, I think they already packed up their gear before they left this morning."

"Alright then. You two have fun." Chigusa replied. "I'll have some food ready by the time you get back."

"Sure, see you later, mum." Yutaro answered before he and Yuji left the house.

It didn't take long for them to reach Misaki Waterland where they caught sight of Yukari and Leanan-sidhe, both the Mystes and the Guze Queen carrying duffle bags.

IIIII::::IIIII

"You should get some fresh air, Ane-san." Keisaku spoke as he nudged Margery to get to her feet.

"Give… me one good reason… why." Margery groaned while complaining. "It's hot outside."

"Too hot that my lovely goblet will be as dry as a bone!" Marcosius added.

"You're not helping at all." Keisaku replied.

"Eh? Misaki Waterland?" Margery asked as she caught sight of the two tickets that Yuji left earlier along with the usual delivery of the alcohol beverage cargo.

"It's some aquatic playground that opened some time ago." Keisaku replied. "Yuji left the tickets here just in case we're interested."

Margery's eyes widened a bit. "Well then, perhaps you're right about getting some fresh air, Keisaku. Let's go there then!"

"Are you sure about this?" Keisaku asked.

"Kid, that's a real good chance to check her out!" Marcosius cackled before Margery kicked the Grimoire across the room.

IIIII:::::IIIII

"They sure hide their proportions well." Yutaro remarked amid seeing Leanan-sidhe and Yukari emerge from the changing rooms. The Spiral Organ wore a modest sky-blue two-piece that hugged her figure tightly. Leanan-sidhe wanted to turn into her adult form and wear a more revealing two-piece just to give Yutaro a good image to remember but since there were some students from the school, the Guze Queen decided against it. The Mystes of the Seiren Maigo wore a gold-white two-piece that showed off the budding proportions of her thin figure, which had such perfect balance to rival the bodily figures of the supermodels at beauty pageants.

"Aren't you two going to get changed?" Leanan-sidhe asked.

"Now we are after recovering from such mesmerizing displays." Yutaro joked before he and Yuji dashed into the changing rooms.

Leanan-sidhe rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I think they'll be giving us a show of their own." Yukari piped up.

"Unless one of us decides to be a showstopper." Leanan-sidhe replied.

A few minutes later, Yuji emerged from the changing rooms, wearing a pair of loose swimming trunks of blue and cyan colors. Yutaro appeared, wearing a pair of loose swimming trunks as well but of orange and red colors. What really amazed Leanan-sidhe and Yukari was that both Yuji and Yutaro, despite being of skinny stature, had some prominent muscles and six-pack abs on themselves.

"They sure hide their muscle builds well." Leanan-sidhe remarked, slightly turned on amid seeing Yutaro with a six-pack.

"Very true." Yukari replied. "I thought you two were going to pull off some sort of show."

"Nah, Yutaro and I decided that women are much better in giving off dazzling shows than men." Yuji replied.

"Hey, Sakai!" a feminine voice called out, causing the quartet to turn and find Matake Ogata, Tanaka Eita, Hayato Ike, and Yoshida Kazumi, all of them in their own respective swimming attires, approaching them. "What a surprise to see you all here."

"The day is real hot so we just decided to check this place out and get some cool-down time." Yutaro replied.

"Looks like this heat-wave gave the same idea among many others." Tanaka remarked.

"I'll say that the greenhouse gases are spiraling out of control these days." Yuji replied.

"Indeed. Both Nakamura-san and Fujita-san had bad timing to suffer heat stroke." Kazumi spoke.

"Are they alright?" Yukari asked.

"It wasn't serious so they'll be fine." Ike replied. "Maybe next time."

"Probably." Leanan-sidhe replied, knowing that Nakamura's presence always drew trouble. "Anyways. Let's hit the water before it all steams away."

With that, everyone took to the large pool to escape the effects of the intense heat wave.

IIIII:::::IIIII

Pheles was bored and a bored Guze Queen usually meant trouble as she flew around the sky before detecting the Interpreter of Condolences moving about.

Landing on the roof of a house, Pheles caught sight of Margery dragging Keisaku along before catching a bit of their conversation.

"I don't think it's a good idea right now." Keisaku was saying.

"It's a heat wave today and the Misaki Waterpark is a good place to cool off." Margery replied. "Besides, you keep telling me to get some fresh air anyways and that's what I'm doing."

"You could go to some other place." Keisaku tried to say.

"I have a feeling that Yuji and the others are there and having fun in the pool." Margery replied, her voice slightly changing to an amorous tone when she mentioned Yuji's name for a split second. "It would be rude if we didn't show up to join them."

As the Flame Haze and her sidekick/escort turned the corner, Pheles was slightly trembling amid the mental image of Margery in a revealing swimsuit and seducing Yuji with her body flashed in her mind, leaving her very pale with fright.

It was right then and there that the Beautiful Whim reconsidered and quickly took off to Misaki Waterland.

IIIII:::::IIIII

Keisaku, wearing black swimming trunks, averted his eyes the moment Margery emerged in a very revealing lavender bikini in which her top looked hard-pressed in keeping her massively huge breasts from spilling out. Her golden hair was flowing loosely, cascading down her head and shoulders. The busty blonde was oblivious to the stares coming from the men and women in the area as she caught sight of a poster on the wall that read:

"Misaki Waterland's Aquatic Couple Calvary Battle. Wage war and win prizes!"

Margery's eyes lit up a bit before she approached Keisaku. "Ready to look for them?"

"They're over there." Keisaku replied, pointing out Yuji, Yutaro, Yukari, and Leanan-sidhe having some fun with several other students from the high school in one large area of the soccer-field sized pool.

"Who would have thought that Yuji and Yutaro are jacked with some muscles on those skinny frames?" Margery spoke with amusement. "They sure hide it real well."

Keisaku rolled his eyes but he couldn't help at being a bit jealous in regards to Yuji and Yutaro having six-pack abs and some slightly muscular arms to boot. Unconsciously, that fact would plant the seed of inspiration for the youth to workout in order to achieve similar results for himself… or perhaps pump himself full of steroids if he was desperate.

"Anyways, I take it that you want a cool and icy drink?" Keisaku asked.

"After the beverages I get to try out, I'm not going to settle for anything that's second rate." Margery replied. "Come on! Let's not keep them waiting."

From where they were, the three Mystes and the Guze Queen had detected the Interpreter of Condolences even before she had entered the water park. The moment they saw her, Yutaro averted his gaze a split second later in order to not anger Leanan-sidhe while Yuji and Yukari raised their eyebrows in question at Margery's choice of swimwear. Ike and Tanaka were obviously distracted by the sight of Margery before Kazumi and Matake pulled their respective attentions away.

"Yoo-hoo, Yu-chan!" Margery cooed amorously as she entered the pool with Keisaku following, though the latter went to greet Tanaka and Matake.

"Gah! She called me Yu-chan! Evil! Evil!" Yuji replied with a panicky tone before slowly and mockingly sinking to his death at the bottom of the pool.

"Haha… very funny." Margery replied as Yuji quickly resurfaced.

"Did you do something to get her to say that?" Leanan-sidhe asked Yuji in a teasing manner.

"Because you certainly are tip-toeing a lot these days." Yutaro added.

"Stop that!" Yuji replied.

"You know that sounds a bit wrong when you call him that." Yukari spoke to Margery.

"Freedom of speech is a universal right. Besides, if Yu-chan plays his cards right, he'll definitely be getting more than a kiss from me." Margery replied, causing Leanan-sidhe, Yuji, Yukari, and Yutaro to look at her in disbelief.

That would be the last thing that they would ever expect to hear coming from Margery Daw, who then noticed Tanaka, Matake, Ike, and Kazumi before asking. "Friends of yours from school?"

"Yes." Yuji replied before introducing Tanaka, Matake, Ike, and Kazumi, all four then being introduced to Margery.

"Is she the freeloader you mentioned about living at your house?" Tanaka asked.

"Long story that I don't want to go into." Keisaku replied.

"I'm sure there's more to it than just that." Matake remarked.

"Sakai, is she your girlfriend?" Ike asked.

"No, she's actually just an acquaintance." Yuji replied.

"It sounds much more than that, considering how she greeted you." Kazumi spoke.

"I think either the heat or the alcohol has gotten to her." Yuji replied before he sensed the familiar presence of the Beautiful Whim approaching Misaki Waterland.

'Can't this day get any worse?' the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo thought as he subtly moved out of the pool.

"Should I feel sorry for him?" Leanan-sidhe asked as she and Yutaro along with Yukari and Margery also detected Pheles's presence.

"He's a tough kid. Nothing much to worry about." Yutaro replied.

Indeed, it was close to doing so when Pheles appeared, wearing an orange three-piece swimsuit. However, Yuji had managed to get some distance away from Margery, who was having fun checking out Matake and Kazumi.

Getting to his feet, the Mystes merely watched before the Beautiful Whim caught sight of him.

"I didn't expect to see you here." Yuji remarked. It was taking all of his willpower to keep himself from ogling the Beautiful Whim's figure. But there was no denying that Pheles had perfect balance in her proportions along with the current realization that the Guze Queen was getting a lot of lustful stares from the men and bitter glares from the women.

"The winds don't seem to agree with me today. Perhaps the water might have a different opinion." Pheles replied.

"I wouldn't mind going to Hawaii next weekend." Yuji spoke, keeping his eyes on trained on Pheles's eyes. "It's a pity that my parents are currently occupied today."

It was then that Pheles noticed the well-toned muscles and six-pack abs that Yuji had on his skinny frame.

'Wow, he's full of surprises to be able to hide all of that.' Pheles thought.

"ATTENTION, WE SHALL BE COMMENCING WITH MISAKI WATERPARK'S AQUATIC COUPLE CAVALRY BATTLE!" the PA system announced.

IIIII:::::IIIII

Yuji, Yutaro, Ike, Keisaku, Tanaka, Leanan-sidhe, Matake, Kazumi, Margery, and Pheles gathered around Yukari, who was holding a bundle of strings that streamed out of her hand. The males stood on one side while the females stood on the other.

"Alright, we draw strings and whichever people are holding the same string shall be paired." Yukari was saying before watching everyone draw.

Initially, Pheles wouldn't have participated whatsoever but after seeing Margery take hold of one string end and cast a lustful glance at Yuji, the Guze Queen felt compelled to follow suit while silently wishing for her not to be paired up with the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo.

Once all the strings were drawn, Yukari opened her hand, revealing the results.

IIIII:::::IIIII

Margery smiled lovingly at Yuji as she sat on his shoulders, straddling the back of his neck.

"Are you enjoying the experience of me being on top of you?" the busty Flame Haze cooed, causing the Mystes to turn red at the suggestive implication behind her question.

"I-" Yuji tried to reply but he was at a loss for words.

Margery grinned amid seeing Yuji's face turn red before whispering. "Expressions speak volumes. Play your cards right and I'll let you experience me first-hand and I like it rather rough."

Perched on Keisaku's shoulders and with her arms crossed, Pheles fumed as she scowled at Yuji while glaring daggers at Margery. While she noticed on how the Flame Haze seemed to be enjoying herself, the Guze Queen noticed that the Mystes had a neutral yet lifeless expression, though his face turned red for a moment.

Leanan-sidhe, who was sitting on top of Yutaro's shoulders, could only sigh at the tense atmosphere that Yuji was in.

After the MC explained the rules, all of the paired couples braced themselves for the whistle before a loud shrill erupted and the battle began.

Moving fast through the water, Yuji maneuvered about the pool while Margery managed to snatch a few headbands, leaving their opponents with the bitter taste of defeat.

"You're pretty good." Margery remarked. "But we're not out of the woods yet."

Yutaro proved to be just as fast and agile in the water as his younger twin, giving Leanan-sidhe the opening moves needed for the Guze Queen to snatch a good number of headbands from their opponents.

"Who wants some?" Leanan-sidhe taunted.

Keisaku gritted his teeth as Pheles was no doubtingly taxing the youth's stamina while grabbing headbands left and right with ease.

'Damn you, Sakai!' Keisaku thought as Pheles dug her heels into him to make him move faster.

"All right! Step right up and prepare to get thrashed!" Pheles taunted while holding a good number of headbands.

"Wow, whoever that green-haired woman is, she's amazing!" Matake remarked.

"Yeah. So is Satou." Tanaka added.

"Eita! Ogata!" a masculine voice called out, causing the pair to turn to see Ike with Kazumi on his shoulders closing in on them.

"It was only a matter of time." Yuji remarked amid seeing them clash.

"We have just a little over a minute left." Margery replied before a loud voice caught their attention.

"YUJI!" Pheles shouted out as she and Keisaku raced towards them.

"Oh hell!" Yuji quipped as he backpedaled away in evasion while Margery tightened her thighs' grip around Yuji's neck to stay perched. "You've got to be jesting!"

"Does it look like I'm laughing?!" Pheles snapped as she tried to grab Margery's headband.

Keep in mind that the Sakai brothers and Yukari had done strenuous underwater training to build their bodies up. While they may be Mystes, it doesn't hurt to partake in exercises that put one's endurance and energy to the test. Of course, successful training underwater tends to give a wonderful bonus on being able to move faster in regards to environmental adaptation. Thus, it was no surprise that Yuji was faster and more agile than Keisaku, who had never done any training exercises whatsoever to be as fit as the Mystes.

"Come on!" Pheles ordered as she dug her heels into Keisaku, who felt like giving up with the exertion taxing his body. It was obvious that Yuji wasn't running away but the Mystes was nimble enough to evade with ease.

"You're rather fired up." Margery remarked as she deflected Pheles's reaching hands.

"You have no idea." Pheles snarled as she grappling with Margery before being pushed back.

"Well. Then let's just turn up the heat!" Margery replied as she lowered herself down and Yuji felt the Flame Haze intentionally pressing her huge breasts on the top of his head. His cheeks turned red as he tried not to think about the warm firmness of Margery's bosom that was making contact. Then again, Yuji was at the age where he was starting to develop certain physical needs that only a woman can satisfy and it was taking a lot of his mental strength of mind to keep himself from succumbing to the involuntary impulses that was stirring his carnal desires.

The moment she saw what transpired, the Guze Queen discarded all of her common sense and jumped off Keisaku, tackling Margery off Yuji's shoulders and sending all of their headbands flying into the air before they landed on the head of one Leanan-sidhe.

TWEET!

"Game over!" the announcer called out. "And your lucky winners are Team Mahiru!"

"Well, it was a lucky break for them." Keisaku remarked.

"Wow, Pheles. You really are bold and daring after all." Yuji commented.

"It's your fault." Pheles replied with her back turned to Yuji.

"What? Just how?" Yuji asked before Pheles turned around and pushed him. It was then that the Mystes saw her face filled with a mixture of anger and sorrow and it looked like the Guze Queen was on the verge of tears as she left the pool in silence.

"Uuuuhhhh….." a feminine voice groaned that Yuji and Keisaku turned to see Margery regaining consciousness while sporting a pair of black eyes. Apparently, Pheles had not taken well to Margery being perched on top of Yuji or the fact that the Flame Haze had the audacity to pull such a shamelessly lewd act on the Mystes, leading the Guze Queen to tackle her into the water where the Beautiful Whim punched the Interpreter of Condolences twice in the face.

"Your responsibility since Margery is your charge, Keisaku." Yuji muttered.

"Thanks, I guess." Keisaku replied.

IIIII:::::IIIII

That evening…

"We've been to that five-star restaurant before so I think it's best that you and dad go out there tonight." Yutaro was saying as he gave the envelope containing the restaurant vouchers to his parents.

"Besides, the vouchers aren't tied to us and so we can give them to anyone." Leanan-sidhe added.

"Well, I guess we'll see on how good this restaurant is." Kantaro replied.

"Say, have any of you seen Yuji?" Chigusa asked.

"He's probably out somewhere, hoping to find the motivation to offer an overture of sorts to Pheles." Yutaro answered.

IIIII:::::IIIII

Pheles was sent sprawling to the ground after being thrown about the grassy field like a rag doll. After leaving the Misaki Waterpark, the Guze Queen had retreated to the wilderness to vent her anger out, blasting a good portion of the landscape with Category Five winds. Unfortunately, that caught the attention of a Guze King known as Jiral, the Stampeding Bedrock. Standing at seven feet and resembling a Centaur but with the top half of his body resembling that of a Minotaur and looking like he had jacked up with steroids and muscles, Jiral was a powerhouse that enjoying hammering and trampling his enemies underfoot.

Having allowed her anger at what transpired earlier today to blind her common sense, Pheles was very deadly amid allowing her rage to fuel her in fighting Jiral. Yet, the Stampeding Bedrock wasn't a complete brute with a small brain. Seeing the Beautiful Whim lash out uncontrollably made her vulnerable and easy to predict. After staying on the defensive, Jiral found the opening in her defense to take the offense against Pheles before throwing her about the field.

Battered and feeling as though she had been struck by bullet trains, Pheles winced as she helplessly watched Jiral tower over her with large balls of fire in both of the palms of his hands, ready to end her life.

"Any last words, bitch?" Jiral asked tauntingly.

Pheles gritted her teeth but looked at her soon-to-be executioner with dignity before seeing Jiral attack.

But before the Guze King could move a muscle, his eyes widened amid catching sight of a chainsaw blade impaling him through his back and protruding out of his chest.

Pheles's eyes widened amid recognizing the blade of the Rotational Edge before catching sight of Yuji send multiple spears of fire at Jiral, forcing the Guze King back.

"Yuji?!" Pheles stammered, catching sight of the Mystes as he moved to engage the Stampeding Bedrock. Having pulled out and tossed the Rotational Edge aside, Jiral moved to pummel the Mystes, who proved very nimble in dodging the melee. Since it was evening and the moon obscured by the clouds, Yuji utilized his Shadow-walking skills, taking advantage of the darkness around the wilderness as he would appear and attack at long-range before vanishing in repetition.

Forced on the defensive, Jiral found himself being pushed back, unable to take the offensive whatsoever. However, the amount of fire being thrown the field was releasing so much heat that the clouds dissipated, allowing the moonlight to shine and vanish the shadows. Seeing that his Shadow-walking tactics close to being completely hindered, Yuji decided to resort to the Shukuchi skills that Yutaro taught him, moving at such lightning-fast speeds while throwing fireballs that he left after-images of himself all over the field. While it would look like the Mystes was being erratic in Jiral's view, the Guze King was being harried by attacks from virtually all directions.

"How could a mere Mystes be this powerful?!" Jiral muttered to himself before the after-images vanished to reveal his foe standing with the Rotational Edge held ready.

'Ah, so he only did that to wear me down and retrieve his weapon? Or is there something else?' the Stampeding Bedrock thought before charging at the Mystes when a vortex of fire erupted around him.

Pheles was completely taken by surprise in seeing Yuji not only utilize the Unrestricted Method Inbelna but also combining it with the blue fire around the field, turning it into a whirlwind inferno around Jiral.

'How the hell does he know how to cast the Inbelna?' the Guze Queen thought. 'I never taught him that… unless he utilized the Reiji Maigo's Instructive Osmosis.'

The Stampeding Bedrock, caught in the blaze, immediately responded as he stomped the ground with his hooves, breaking the Inbelna by subsiding the ground underneath it to form a fissure in the earth that sent large jagged rocks flying into the air in all directions. Pheles, severely weakened by the beating she took and being very low on power of existence, braced herself for the barrage when Yuji appeared several feet in front of her.

Immediately, blue flames with a cyan corona erupted around the youth in a flaming combat aura that his hair stood up just as the incoming pieces of earth slammed into his back to no effect.

"What is this?" Pheles asked in surprise.

"The Fevered Nova. Yutaro and Yukari helped me in its creation." Yuji replied before hearing Jiral charge at them. The Mystes turned and swiped low with the Rotational Edge, unleashing a blazing combination of fire and Quintessence that ripped through the Guze King with impunity before nothing was left but embers.

'That one skill along with the Fevered Nova really took a lot out of me.' Yuji thought as he collapsed on his knees in exhaustion before sitting cross-legged on the grass to recuperate.

"Why did you save me?" Pheles inquired.

"Do I need a reason to?" Yuji asked.

"Don't answer a question with another question!" Pheles snapped as she glared at Yuji.

"Unless there's a legitimate reason, then I'll just assume that you're angry and jealous in regards to me being a nice guy around other women, even though I have no interest in them." Yuji replied softly while looking straight into Pheles's eyes with a neutral expression and time-honored patience.

"Where the hell did you get that idea?" Pheles sneered.

"You just indicated that much." Yuji replied softly and calmly. "The expression you had that afternoon along with the angry one before you left after the competition ended. If I had known you'd react like that, I wouldn't have participated."

"You're delusional!" Pheles snapped, keeping her eyes locked on Yuji. "I bet you enjoyed having Margery on top of you this afternoon."

"If that was true, then you wouldn't be angry or irritated about it, though Margery was the one that approached me first." Yuji answered calmly. "It's true that any hormonal male would lust for a woman like Margery Daw on either the compulsive desires or the carnal temptations that come from seeing on what she physically has to offer. Can you actually blame a seventeen year old, whose hormones are running faster than the speed of light, to involuntarily experience those kind of compulsions the moment they appear?"

"Well, no." Pheles replied in defeat, remembering on how she had to rein in on Johan when he was Yuji's age as he no doubtingly had perverted thoughts towards girls long before the Reiji Maigo was created. Even before she met Johan, Pheles did bear witness to seeing the lustful stares that men had given her when in their presence, unable to withstand the seductive glamour that her beauty ensnared them with. The Guze Queen couldn't deny that the Mystes brought up one valid point.

"If I didn't experience those lustful compulsions towards the opposite sex, that would no doubtingly placed me in the section reserved for gay homos and I certainly DO NOT want to join that category." Yuji spoke. The Mystes is a straight-oriented male after all and, while he certainly had interests in girls, Yuji wasn't quite sure on the prospects of dating older women like Margery or Pheles, the latter being a more decent choice in his opinion.

"Good and valid points that you bring up." Pheles replied, trying not to laugh at Yuji's last statement. "Am I that easy to read?"

"Not all the time." The Mystes replied calmly. "Yukari is a sharp judge of character and taught Yutaro and I on some of those aspects. But anyways, getting back to the subject, the reason I jumped in to save you is the same as the one I said back when I kissed you the first time."

Pheles blushed profusely that it didn't escape Yuji's sight. But the Guze Queen was able to detect the hollowness in his answer and had a feeling that the Mystes had some other reason in saving her that he wasn't going to disclose just as she herself had other reasons for remaining with him. Despite trying to keep an emotionlessly neutral expression, Yuji was able to neither prevent the slight blush on his cheeks nor have it escape Pheles's notice. While The Beautiful Whim didn't know on how to comprehend this, it was obvious now that the force of attraction truly worked both ways no matter how it starts. In addition, Yuji had saved her life, leaving Pheles with the possibility that he probably did care about her.

"Then what is your take in regards to the Interpreter of Condolences?" Pheles asked, some apprehension returning to her tone.

"She's a heavy binge drinker and has a way of playing with the hormones of a male teenager." Yuji replied. "Considering that I was the first person she fought against when she came to Misaki, I think Margery is trying to utilize her seductive allure to embarrass me as a method of revenge. We're just friends, no different than what goes on between Johan and Wilhelmina."

"I had a feeling that you would say that." Pheles replied. "But what reason do you have for hiring her as the taste-tester?"

"Margery has good taste that provides the expertise in evaluating the beverage samples." Yuji replied. "She accepted on the condition that she gets some of her favorite beverages in return along with the meager salary. It was a small price to pay."

"A small price that leads to Margery getting very friendly with you." Pheles replied bitterly.

"I'm sorry, Pheles." Yuji spoke softly before the Guze Queen waved her hand as though to stop him from continuing.

"Yuji, I should be the one to apologize. I jumped to quick conclusions about you without thinking real hard." Pheles replied.

"Even so..." Yuji tried to speak but Pheles interrupted.

"How about we just put this behind us?" Pheles suggested. "It's hardly anything of importance anyways."

"If you really wish to." Yuji replied.

"Anyways, I have a feeling that you have another reason to look for me." Pheles spoke.

"Linkin' Park concert in Sacramento, California. I was wondering if you wanted to come." Yuji replied.

"Are you asking me out?" Pheles asked.

"You've been rather insistent in keeping an eye on the Reiji Maigo so I thought it would be prudent to at least tell you where I'm heading to." Yuji replied.

Pheles mentally laughed, recognizing her own words echoing out of Yuji's response. Seeing a chance to get to know the Mystes better, the Guze Queen decided to take the opportunity as she really didn't have anything to do at the moment.

"It's been awhile since I've listened to some good music so sure, I'll come with you." Pheles replied. "But you'll have to give me a recharge."

Yuji nodded. But before he could proceed, the Guze Queen pounced onto the Mystes, sending him onto his back as she crashed her lips onto his.

Pinned to the ground with Pheles on top of him, Yuji was mentally rendered frozen until he felt her tongue in his mouth such that his mind rebooted to comprehend what was happening. Then again, the kiss tasted good until it got better amid Yuji hearing Pheles moan a bit as though she was being aroused while gaining so much power of existence.

'This is the second kiss even though she started it.' Yuji thought before Pheles eventually broke and withdrew.

"What goes around, comes around." The Guze Queen spoke with a smirk.

"You're more aggressive than ever." Yuji replied.

"Play your cards right and you might have the chance to experience how aggressive I can be after passing first base." Pheles countered, causing Yuji to choke a bit and turn red at her remark. "Ready to take me there?"

"Of course, my lady." Yuji replied.

Both the Mystes and the Guze Queen stood up before heading towards the shade of a tree where Yuji Shadow-walked away with Pheles in tow.

IIIII:::::IIIII

Read and review.


	13. Conversations And a Fiery Arrival

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

IIIIII:::::IIIII

A few weeks ago…

_Yutaro, Yukari, and Leanan-sidhe would've thought that they had stepped into something equivalent to the twilight zone had they not known about the events regarding Yuji and Pheles. Only Keisaku was bewildered, despite what he knew._

_The Beautiful Whim and the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo were actually working together in mixing and filtering the fermented broth for the distillation into watermelon wine. Pheles seemed very relaxed around Yuji, who was explaining to her on some of the small factors to watch out for in the making of watermelon wine. By the time they were done, both of them actually left together, engaging in a conversation over the principles of fermentation along with custom spices that could be added to give an exotic taste._

_A few minutes later, Margery came into the warehouse with a slight trace of annoyance on her face._

"_I guess Yu-chan belongs to that green-haired femme fatale now?" Margery asked._

"_That has yet to be determined as they've only gone out on just one date." Leanan-sidhe replied._

"_And it was an excellent one considering that they've gotten a bit more amicable with each other." Yukari added._

"_Shows that Yuji has the proper manners and tact that every male of the Sakai bloodline is expected to have." Yutaro added._

_Margery sighed. "It would have been nice if I got little Yuji instead. I guess it's time to go for the next best thing that hasn't been taken."_

_Keisaku raised his eyebrows a bit at the remark but since he was busy, he didn't notice Margery's gaze on him._

"_Or maybe I should steal Yuji from Pheles…" Margery remarked with a glint in her eyes._

"_I think the last thing we need as a major hurricane above category five along with a tsunami and a tornado." Yutaro replied._

"_Well, I might as well stick to the first thought instead. Anyways, I got some bad news." Margery continued as she brought out a wanted flyer. "The Outlaw posted this recently. Looks like someone has red flagged Yuji and disclosed the location of the Reiji Maigo."_

IIIII::::IIIII

On the streets, a small cab rolled to a stop and a young boy wearing an orange hooded sweater and black trousers emerged with the large Mekest Hougu wrapped in cloth while strapped to his back. Since he paid the fare and tip prior to his arrival, the cab left and the young boy looked at the house before him before a young girl with dark brown hair and violet eyes while wearing a sleeveless blouse and jeans emerged from the front door to open the gate.

"Thanks for coming, Khamsin." Yukari greeted as she kissed and hugged the Flame Haze, who blushed and grimaced a bit amid feeling the Mystes's noticeable bosom.

"It's good to see you again, Yukari." Khamsin replied as Yukari led him inside where Yutaro and Pheles were waiting in the living room. "You didn't have to send me a hundred grand."

Yukari smiled as she guided him to sit next to her on the couch. "Well, business is good and the profits are skyrocketing like crazy. A hundred grand in U.S. currency is just pocket change. Think of it as a gift."

"Thanks, Yukari." Khamsin replied before asking. "So it's just us four?"

"For now, we figured that we just talk." Yutaro replied.

"Good Lord. How stuck are you?" Khamsin asked.

"Stuck." Yutaro replied.

"More like stalled." Pheles added.

"But we're stuck." Yukari finished.

"Alright." Khamsin spoke. "Run it for me. Just give the big picture and don't leave anything out."

It was then that Pheles started the news about the Outlaw placing a hit on Yuji's head along with information that revealed the location of the Reiji Maigo. There were also unsettling rumors of the Balle Masque being on the move such that the conflict would certainly erupt around the city, drawing both Flame Haze and Tomogara to Misaki.

"The Interpreter of Condolences doesn't know on how the Outlaw got the information on the Reiji Maigo's location and the Mystes." The Guze Queen was saying. "Therefore, we're running circles in trying to find out on who confirmed everything for them to go forward along with trying to clamp them down."

"Whoever it is that is responsible for starting this has already taken a free jab without consequence." Khamsin replied. "The one way to prevent or at least minimize the effect of a second jab would be to get some eyes and ears in the information flow and who the sources are without being caught. I doubt any of you along with Yuji and Leanan-sidhe would have any problems in handling Flame Hazes and other Tomogara trying to get Reiji Maigo."

"Of course not." Yutaro replied. "But we're a bit on the edge. It's bad enough to be on the Outlaw's radar but none of us are keen on getting caught in having to contend against Balle Masque as well."

"Let's focus on the Outlaw first." Khamsin replied. "You lack an informant on their inside moves."

"We've imbedded Kantaro as a mole already in local branch." Yukari replied.

IIIII::::IIIII

"_Now the tack will stimulate your EKG much in the same way a lie would." Yukari was saying as Kantaro took his left shoe off. "But you have to step on it during the control questions: name, birth date, and so on. That way, those levels will match the stress levels of your false answers."_

"_Understood." Kantaro replied as he slipped the sharp tack into his left shoe. "How much is this going to hurt?"_

"_If done right, a bit excruciating." Yukari replied. "The Outlaw is still slightly behind on the technology so you should be fine in getting past their lie detectors."_

_An hour later…_

"_Are you wearing a white shirt?" the interrogator asked._

_Kantaro painfully stepped on the tack inside his shoe before replying. "Yes."_

"_Have you been involved in the commission of a crime?" the interrogator asked._

"_No." Kantaro replied._

"_Ryuji." the interrogator spoke._

"_Solid, sir." The operator named Ryuji replied._

"_I love technology." The interrogator spoke. "For one moment, you looked evasive. But the machine says you're clean."_

"_I'm just a little nervous with the interview. I really want this job." Kantaro replied._

"_You can relax now." The interrogator replied. "You'll do perfectly for intelligence gathering. Welcome to the Outlaw's data gathering."_

IIIII::::IIIII

"So Kantaro got in." Khamsin remarked. "That means that he'll have access to their fledging global computer network yet will be restricted on what he can get to as a field informant. You'll have to find someone that can program a trapdoor. I think I know someone that can do that."

"Thanks, Khamsin." Yutaro replied. "We've got someone already. A great kid named Roland, who took a little too much downtime."

"He's run up a nice little gaming tab, one that he won't be able to keep a secret for long." Pheles added.

IIIII::::IIIII

_Somewhere in San Francisco, California inside an apartment…_

"_Now I have no…" Roland was saying as he spoke to Yuji. "…I guess I can only say that it's out of control."_

"_How bad is it?" Yuji asked._

"_It's horrible. I owe forty thousand online." Roland answered. "So it might as well be a hundred grand."_

_Yuji nodded before handing him a briefcase. "Alright then. Let's call it a hundred and one grand then, the extra just for guarantees."_

_Roland looked at the briefcase before opening it to see stacks of hundred dollar bills in U.S. currency. "Thanks Yuji."_

"_Roland, my pleasure." Yuji replied. "Now I hope you won't mind telling the ends and outs of that Trapdoor Trojan of yours."_

IIIIII::::IIIII

"Well, I must say that you all have poured some real thinking into spying on the Outlaw's moves." Khamsin remarked.

"They're not the only problem as you already know." Yukari replied.

"Indeed." Khamsin replied. "Since you have that covered, I take it your problem is the Balle Masque then?"

"Well, we could use more opinions." Yutaro replied. "Regarding the Balle Masque, I think it was only a matter of time and that wanted poster of Yuji is like a large flower attracting a swarm of bees. Yesterday, Leanan-sidhe managed to sneak into the Seireiden with a few others as guests to confirm their movements."

"They may plan on changing details so you can't always rely on the information that you are able to get completely." Khamsin spoke. "Sometimes, they'll change things in secret in order for their enemies to be thrown out of sync or make last minute adjustments."

"Which is why Chigusa and I managed to create the appropriate means to get the inside scoop before Leanan-sidhe went on that one trip." Pheles replied.

IIIIII:::IIIIII

"_Even the most secluded Hikikomori won't stay in a room in complete darkness. They always have at least one window for the sunlight to come in as a source of vitamin D." Chigusa spoke as she handed Pheles a glass pane._

"_The only problem is that enacting the Unrestricted Methods, Eavesdropper and Peeper, do take power of existence." Pheles replied as she cast Unrestricted Method templates into it._

"_Indeed but Yu-chan mentioned on how the Seireiden is bloated with power of existence to maintain itself as the Balle Masque's fortress of operations." The young housewife spoke. "Surely, just a small and unnoticeable bit can be used to power the Eavesdropper and the Peeper. I doubt the Trinity or anyone else would suspect it."_

"_That could actually work." The Guze Queen replied as she cast a few Unrestricted Methods on the glass pane before placing it aside. "Since Leanan-sidhe has some admiration for stain glass windows, I doubt anyone at the Balle Masque would notice her tampering around with it."_

IIIIII::::IIIIIII

"Alright, so you have eyes and ears in the main hall and the throne room of the Seireiden." Khamsin replied. "And how is the feedback on information so far?"

"Very good." Yukari replied. "They'll be making a move around the time that Misaki High School's 71st Seishuu Festival occurs at the end of October. Two days from now."

"Leanan-sidhe is probably the only one that can get in and out of the Seireiden but she can't afford to have her cover blown as a guest." Yutaro spoke.

"Prudent measures." Khamsin replied.

"I'm slightly digressing a bit but I just have a question." Yutaro spoke. "I heard a long time ago that one of Bel Peol's minions used the Gordian Knot to take down the Seireiden's sister island, the Tendou-Kyuu. Just in case we have to fight the Balle Masque, would you be able to determine on how much power that an explosive should have to blast the island out of the sky in pieces?"

"It depends on where it occurs." Khamsin replied. "Taking into consideration on the measures utilized to strengthen the Seireiden's endurance, a nuclear weapon like the hydrogen bomb might work. But you can't steal one from Russia or the U.S."

"Obviously not." Yukari spoke.

"Is that the most accurate estimate you have?" Yutaro asked.

"That's all I can guess at." Khamsin replied. "I'm sorry if I wasn't helpful."

"No problem. There's enough time to think on the subject." Yutaro replied.

"Say for the moment that you all manage to repel the Balle Masque and the Outlaw. They'll still know about the Reiji Maigo's location and such. I take it that the exit strategy is a problem?" Khamsin asked.

"The exit strategy is a problem but not THE problem." Pheles replied.

"Erasing the data they have on Yuji and the Reiji Maigo from the computer database won't be a hassle, though I can't say the same for hard copies." Yutaro explained. "The problem is memory among the Flame Hazes and Outlaw. The same can be said for the Balle Masque as well. We're drawing a blank and I doubt we can wipe memories."

"How good are all of your acting skills?" Khamsin asked.

"Pretty good." Yukari replied while Yutaro and Pheles nodded in agreement.

"It would be prudent to destroy the Mystes but that can only be in plain sight of the Balle Masque or the Outlaw or both." Khamsin spoke.

"Absolutely out of the question!" Pheles replied while flaring up with astonishment.

"You didn't let me finish." Khamsin spoke. "Yuji and the Reiji Maigo won't be sacrificed."

"Oh, okay." Pheles replied, settling back down.

"Anyways, putting on an elaborate show would convince both groups to back off but you all have to make it look real." Khamsin spoke.

"Right." Yutaro replied. "But to better ensure a fake death or at least with both sides thinking that he didn't existed, we wonder on whether or not your Tuning skills can suffice."

"It'll take some augmentation to ensure that it works." Khamsin replied. "The Outlaw will think that Yuji is dead. But the Balle Masque won't be easy to trick for long. If so, then erasing Yuji's existence from their memories might give a greater chance that they'll let you all be. But for that to work, I'll not only need to plant the insignias but during the execution phase, the Seireiden as a whole must be situated at the center of the patterns. Only then will it work."

"We have adequate time to set everything up." Pheles remarked before standing up. "I need to go get some fresh air."

"The Beautiful Whim is certainly one of the least expected to be hanging around here unless it was for the Reiji Maigo." Khamsin remarked once the Guze Queen had left. "How is it that she's rather… casual now?"

"That's because the Reiji Maigo is around and Yuji somehow managed to convince Pheles to not kill him." Yutaro replied. "Though frankly, I think she'll have a real difficult time to do so."

"Not to mention that those two just went on one date so far." Yutaro added.

If Khamsin was expecting answers, the last sentence from the Mystes of the Seiren Maigo wasn't one of them.

"I know that Johan is dead for almost a year so…" Khamsin trailed off.

"Just one date. While perfect, that doesn't make them a couple. Even Yuji agrees and, despite saving Pheles from fatal danger once, thinks that it'll be a long while before any progress is possible." Yukari added.

"That's true." Khamsin replied. "But how does Yuji feel about this?"

Yutaro answered. "Regarding the Beautiful Whim? Well, the only fly in the ointment is that Yuji does feel a bit hesitant to 'fill the void in her heart.' Although he certainly doesn't mind in looking after Pheles, Yuji does have his doubts, which keep him at the status of amicable terms."

"I think Yuji doesn't want to take Pheles's memories of Johan away from her, hence the instinct to keep his distance despite recent events." Yukari added.

The Mystes of the Mahiru Maigo then changed the subject. "So anyways, since you're here, do you have any plans with Yukari should there be any free time?"

Khamsin grimaced a bit, feeling nervous and it was only worse when he felt Yukari lean in to wrap her arms around him in a hug. The Flame Haze was at a loss on what to say.

IIIIII:::::IIIIII

Arriving at the warehouse, Pheles walked in to find Leanan-sidhe taking care of the administrative tasks of the Diversity Grail. It was a recent name to refer to the alcohol beverage brewing business that the Sakai brothers started.

"How's everything?" the Beautiful Whim asked.

"The coffers are overflowing as usual. However, it looks like several governments of the nations that we did business in are on the lookout." The Spiral Organ replied. "Best guess is that our purchasers were questioned by authorities that they caved under the pressure. I guess they couldn't answer on where they legally received our products along with the makers. The U.S. and the European Union have stepped up to try to deter us but I think the enforcement will be lax, though our regulars will be watched."

"Shouldn't be a problem to bypass them." Pheles spoke.

"I was thinking of creating a false distillery business with a legitimate name or buy off one of the major competitors." Leanan-sidhe replied. "That is if the latter is really cheap."

"What about the Ocean family?" Pheles asked.

"We can still do business with them but it's best that we have other market customers from different areas around the world to maintain the overflowing profits." Leanan-sidhe replied. "Tell me, Pheles. How did your date with Yuji go?"

Pheles grimaced as her cheeks turned pink for a moment. "How about you tell me how your date with Yutaro went first before I return the favor?"

The Guze Queen smiled a bit amid hearing the deal from her fellow Guze Queen. "Fair enough."

"Well?" Pheles asked.

"Well, I've gone out with Yutaro almost every night until now due to the threat that the Balle Masque and the Outlaw present." Leanan-sidhe replied. "As for Yutaro, well, he's become my main reason to remain in Misaki."

"You both cleared the first step that fast already?" Pheles asked.

"You'll be surprised on how fast a relationship can grow and progress." Leanan-sidhe replied. "I'll just say that we're more in sync with a long road of progression to be made."

The Beautiful Whim could sense that the Spiral Organ's rather casual replies were a collective method of evasion to the question presented. Yet, the Guze Queen couldn't deny on how close her fellow Guze Queen and her Mystes companion have gotten.

"So what do you see in Yutaro?" Pheles asked.

"That's classified." Leanan-sidhe replied. "Despite exceeding my expectations as a worthy match, he still has a long way to go before we really get serious together."

"Must be in the gene pool of the Sakai males to be able to progress well with the females." Pheles remarked offhandedly.

"Maybe." Leanan-sidhe replied. "On the other hand, the only thing I see between you and Yuji is a roller-coaster due to your mood swings."

"I do not have mood swings!" Pheles flared.

"Even if that were true, I can't help but notice this." Leanan-sidhe replied. "When you both met, you both tried to kill each other before deciding not to. Obviously, you both weren't on friendly terms but at least the hostilities ceased to allow some degree of civil neutrality. While you certainly didn't like him, I couldn't help but wonder on why you seem severely irritated whenever he's close to another woman. Is that jealously?"

"I'm not jealous!" Pheles snapped.

"May I remind you on what you said to him amid your arrival by storm in Las Vegas?" Leanan-sidhe asked.

"Okay, I might be a bit jealous but you better keep this to yourself or else!" Pheles warned.

"Don't worry, Pheles. It's not like I ever tell Yutaro about Yukari and I tend to bathe and shower together." Leanan-sidhe replied with a tinting blush on her face. "Heck, he doesn't even know that we both do on some nights as well."

"Which is?" Pheles inquired with a predatory grin.

"Try having a pillow fight in sans clothing condition. Of course, I take my adult form so imagine what the scenario looks like." Leanan-sidhe replied with a cheeky grin this time.

Pheles turned red at the reply as her mind had the image of Yukari and Leanan-sidhe in her adult form engaging in a pillow fight without an article of clothing on themselves.

"You and Yukari actually go that far all the time?" the Beautiful Whim asked.

"Not all the time!" the Spiral Organ laughed. "No, Yukari and I tend to have lingerie pillow fights. We've only tried having a naked pillow fight once and, while enjoyable, it was too adult even in our respective opinions. Besides, we didn't want Chigusa or anyone to ask on why our room smells heavily of our scents."

"I guess there is such thing as too much information." Pheles sighed.

"Anyways, now about you tell me on what goes on between you and Yuji." Leanan-sidhe spoke.

"He's a charming kid but rather uncouth, thus leaving me the task of taming him." Pheles replied. "But that's all I'm going to say."

"You're in denial." Leanan-sidhe spoke. "Even if you don't want to admit it, your dislike of Yuji is only superficial."

"The dislike is for real! That punk has the audacity to kiss me twice already!" Pheles snapped.

"He kissed you twice?" Leanan-sidhe asked, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Perhaps you are progressing much faster than Yutaro and I."

Pheles looked furious with herself before calming down to reply sternly. "We're just civil accomplices. Maybe friends but nothing more than that."

Despite the assertion in Pheles's tone, Leanan-sidhe couldn't help but notice that her fellow Guze Queen was making a very big understatement.

At the same time, Pheles felt the words that she had just spoken sounded rather hollow, even to her own ears.

IIIIII:::::IIIIII

At Misaki High School…

Yuji sighed as he finished assisting Kazumi, Ike, and Fujita set up a number of classrooms for the 71st Seishuu Festival. Ever since he, Yutaro, and Yukari had gotten busy with the alcohol business and fighting in the Guze, they weren't active much in the extracurricular activities at the school. Still, Yuji and his siblings did their assigned duties without complaint, finishing up quickly before leaving.

"Done already, Sakai?" A feminine voice asked, causing Yuji to turn around to see Matake approaching him.

"Ogata." Yuji replied.

"You, your brother, and Hirai seem to be finishing up fast with your assigned duties for the festival." Matake remarked.

"Well, the three of us aren't keen to do much for this year's festival." Yuji replied. "But we'll be on standby nonetheless."

"That's good to hear." Matake replied. "It's strange that you three aren't around as frequently like in the old days. Obviously, Eita isn't either but we all know that he's a bit laid back. Is there anything going?"

"I appreciate your concern but it's nothing major." Yuji answered as he looked outside the window. "It's just a natural occurrence in regards to the changes that we individually face."

"Eh?" Matake asked cluelessly.

"You've noticed on how the Sakura trees come in full bloom with all of their flowery petals, right?" Yuji asked.

"Uh…yes?" Matake replied cluelessly.

"On one branch, you have flowers that blossom in close proximity." Yuji continued speaking. "One flower has many petals. Over time, the flowers all branches lose their petals, which fall at approximately five centimeters per second. Will you be able to find the original petals that belong to one flower in a sea of millions?" **(1)**

The cryptic question had Matake thinking. But just as she was about to answer, Nakamura's voice echoed across the hall, calling for Matake.

"Well, I better get back." Matake replied. "Take care, Sakai!"

With that, the crimson-haired tomboy headed down the hallway while the brown-haired Mystes rolled his eyes and left the school.

"Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut instead of forwarding a question like that." Yuji muttered to himself.

Amid reaching the bridge, Yuji stopped and looked around, sensing something amiss.

'Hmm… none of us had bothered setting up new wards to replace the ones that were taken down.' Yuji thought to himself. 'I'll have to talk to Yutaro and the others in regards to that problem.'

Turning, the Mystes was about to resume his trek across the bridge when his senses alerted him to the presence of a Flame Haze closing in on him.

Some split seconds later, the eerie red glow of a Fuzetsu engulfed the area such that Yuji mentally prepared himself to respond. Such a quick transition of the mind seemed to have its benefits as the Mystes caught sight of crimson lotus flames ahead before a young girl appeared. She looked to be about twelve with long flaming hair and red eyes, wearing a trench-coat over her long-sleeve blouse and mid-length skirt while holding a long katana that was burning with fire.

There was no doubt in Yuji's mind that the newcomer was a Flame Haze.

'Please don't tell me that she is who I think she is.' Yuji thought to himself.

"Looks like it's the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo." The girl spoke. "The appearance matches the image, Alastor."

"Indeed." A deep masculine voice spoke.

"The Slayer with the Flaming Hair and Red Eyes along with the Flame of the Heavens." Yuji remarked. "What are the odds?"

"The Mystes appears to know who we are." Alastor spoke.

The young girl pointed her sword at Yuji. "Shall I destroy it?"

"You know what is at stake and the risks involving the existence of the Reiji Maigo." Alastor replied. "However, it is your decision."

"I know." The Flame Haze replied. "Any last words before you feel the blade of the Nietono no Shana, Mystes of the Reiji Maigo?"

"That depends." Yuji replied as he narrowed his eyes. "But I'm not going to let you be my executioner."

"Hmmph! That's fine because your opinion is moot to boot!" the Flame Haze snarled as she gripped the Nietono no Shana tightly.

"Likewise, the same can be said for you." Yuji replied before drawing the Rotational Edge, whose chainsaw-like blade began to spin very fast.

With that, the Slayer with the Flaming Hair and Red Eyes and the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo charged at each other with their respective weapons drawn.

IIIIII:::::IIIIII

1) Small reference to the anime film "Five Centimeters Per Second." (A very moving masterpiece)


	14. Stirring Embers

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

Been a long time since I updated this along with the other stories.

IIIIII:::::::IIIIII

The blazing fire engulfing the razor-sharp edge of the Nietono no Shana burned the air as the Flame Haze swiped at the Mystes, who blocked the strikes with the Rotational Edge while returning a few strikes of his own.

"So, Nanashi? You're here for the Outlaw's bounty on my head?" Yuji inquired.

"Nanashi?" the Flame Haze growled, realizing that the Mystes was labeling her with a name that meant nameless. "You have no right to call me by anything!"

"Well, it's a bit boring to just call you the Slayer with the Flaming Hair and Red Eyes." Yuji replied as he began adding more momentum to his strikes. "Your contractor is named Alastor and it's rather disappointing that you don't have a name whatsoever."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" the Flame Haze snapped while pressing her assault.

"So I got a small list on what I could call you." Yuji continued while going on the defensive.

"I could call you _Louise_ Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc de La _Vallière_ but you don't have pink hair and don't carry a wand."

"I could call you Nagi Sanzenin but you're a little too tall and not a blonde."

"I could call you Taiga Aisaka but you're not a brunette and lack a palmtop tiger."

"I could call you Toka Tennoji but you lack white hair along with a noticeable bust, making you an underdeveloped flat-chest anyways."

The last statement caused something to snap in the Flame Haze's mind such that she lost her temper.

"Fl-Fl-Flat what? Why you…!" The Flame Haze roared as she channeled more power into her sword. Seeing the Mystes actually having the gall to smile and even laugh made her even more angry. "Let's see you laugh once I'm done gutting you!"

"Sure. As if you could touch me!" Yuji taunted. "Hey, I know what to call you now! Your name can be Shana since you enjoy using the Nietono no Shana!"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" the Flame Haze screamed while slashing at the Mystes, who blocked her strikes.

Leaping away and out of the Flame Haze's striking range, Yuji landed on top of a fire hydrant before turning the top knob. "Really, Shana-chan. Is that all you got?"

"Quit calling me that!" the Flame Haze shouted before sending a large ball of fire with a swing from her sword.

"No civility, no manners, and no visible signs of puberty." Yuji taunted as he conjured a blue fireball and negated the incoming shot. "But that's fine because those things can be obtained while growing up. But no name? Geez, you sound like you just out of a week-long crack binge with Amy Winehouse."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" the Flame Haze roared as she sent a larger inferno at the Mystes.

With the fire hydrant's water pressure reaching very high, Yuji quickly sliced open one of the valves, which unleashed a torrential blast of water at the incoming flames, dousing them out. The Flame Haze was unable to dodge such that the incoming blast of water slammed into her head-on and sent her flying across the street. The blazing-haired girl's expression screamed murder after being soaked before a flaming aura engulfed her body. Already, her killing intent was reaching astronomical levels, all of it directed towards the Mystes that was embarrassing her in a simple fight.

"Roid rage, eh? No matter how much estrogen you take, you'll still be a concave-chest little half-pint!" Yuji taunted, intentionally getting the girl even more angrier than ever.

"DIE!" the Flame Haze screamed before soaring at the Mystes with her sword drawn.

Seeing the incoming overhead strike, Yuji moved towards the Flame Haze and maneuvered his head in between her arms just as the blade came down. It looked as if the Flame Haze had her arms around the Mystes's neck and Yuji slammed his forehead into the girl's face, smashing her nose and causing her to stagger back while dropping her sword.

Seeing her stunned from the impact, Yuji grabbed the dizzied girl's arm, hoisting her over his shoulders before tossing and slamming her onto the windshield of a car. The glass shattered from the impact while the hood took a large dent.

The Mystes then leapt away just as the Flame Haze recovered and sprung at him, being forced to dodge while his foe recovered her sword. Once more, Yuji blocked the Nietono no Shana with the Rotational Edge, parrying to throw the attack away while spinning and landing a kick through an opening in his foe's defense. The Flame Haze staggered from the kick to her back before leaping away, barely avoiding a downward slash from the Mystes.

"He's a lot more formidable than I thought." The Flame Haze muttered.

"Indeed. The threat that this Mystes presents sure warrants the Outlaw's attention and risk rating placed on him." Alastor replied.

"Hey Alastor! Is Shana-chan unable to stomach a good fight?" Yuji taunted. "I guess your flat-chested underdeveloped wimp of a Flame Haze is all bark and no bite."

Several veins appeared on the Flame Haze's forehead as she had just been called a flat-chest once more. Unquenchable rage filled her mind before she finally snapped and the Nietono no Shana erupted with a huge swirl of fire.

"HOW DARE YOU!" the Flame Haze roared, her power skyrocketing wildly as though her wrath was fueling it, before charging at the Mystes. "TASTE THE FLAMES OF MY FURY, WHELP!"

With that, the Slayer with the Flaming Hair and Red Eyes brought her blade down on the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo, who blocked the strike while activating the Azure that negated the inferno around the Nietono no Shana. The Flame Haze was completely taking by surprise in seeing her power suddenly diminish just as she struck.

Yuji maneuvered the Rotational Edge to disarm the Flame Haze, who anticipated the maneuver before countering such that both of their weapons were sent flying away. The young girl kicked Yuji in the stomach, causing the Mystes to double over from the blow. But just as she was about to deliver an uppercut, Yuji evaded by moving around before wrapping her left arm around the Flame Haze's front and, with his right hand pressed against her back, lifted her up and executing a side-slam onto the concrete. The Flame Haze felt the impact as the wind was knocked out of her lungs while Yuji rolled back to his feet. The Flame Haze also recovered before screaming with fury as she charged at Yuji, delivering a high jump kick. The Mystes, however, answered by kicking upwards just as the Flame Haze's leg came in range, sending her flying upwards that her skirt whipped up and revealing white lace.

"Nice choice of panties." Yuji remarked loudly, causing the Flame Haze to turn a bright red while her eyes blazed with fire.

"DIE!" the young girl screamed as she swung both of her arms out, unleashing a wave of fire. Yuji shielded himself from the blast and the Flame Haze quickly retrieved the Nietono no Shana along with the Rotational Edge before attacking.

"Oh shit!" Yuji cursed, finding himself facing a very angry girl holding two swords and swinging at him. Backing away and evading the strikes, the Mystes took the chance to increase the distance before throwing a flurry of fireballs at every angle possible, only to see the Flame Haze deflect the attacks with ease.

"My turn!" the young girl shouted before soaring towards her foe and slashing downwards, only to find him grabbing her wrists to hinder her attack.

Yuji then slammed his forehead hard onto the young girl's forehead. Since the blow certainly knocked both weapons out of her hands, the dizzied condition of the Flame Haze was enough for Yuji to quickly land a punch combo. The Flame Haze felt the impacts as the Mystes delivered a left jab to her right ear that had her head turning left, right cross to her left ear that turned her head to her right and a left uppercut underneath her chin that threw her head back while knocking her off her feet and out of consciousness. While his punches were powerful enough to have certainly knocked out the Flame Haze, Yuji felt as though he was hitting a solid titanium wall with his bare fists while nursing the pain that only came once the adrenaline in his arms wore off. There was no doubt that the Flame Haze engulfed and strengthened her body with a large amount of power of existence when he delivered the knock out punch.

"I guess superficial damage doesn't apply to you, Shana-chan. If you had a punching combo, I would've called you Shana Melon-Pan Mayweather, the little sister of Floyd "Money" Mayweather." Yuji muttered to himself as he retrieved the Rotational Edge before enacting repairs to the area under the Fuzetsu.

It would be only five minutes later that Flame Haze would regain consciousness to find the Fuzetsu still active and all the damages repaired while the Nietono no Shana rested next to her. But with no apparent sign of the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo, the young girl could only scream in frustration with her pride ruined while swearing vengeance.

IIIIII::::::IIIIIII

Even while not in her adult form, Leanan-sidhe's appearance cast a really alluring charm in the eyes of Yutaro Sakai. The Guze Queen was wearing a purple spaghetti-strap shirt that clashed wonderfully with her hair and tight black jeans that hugged her hips and legs.

Yutaro himself was wearing a red silk dress shirt and khaki cargos along with black dress shoes. Much to Leanan-sidhe's surprise, Yutaro had placed red highlights on the end tips of his hair. The Mystes looked like a rebellious version of the dreamy prince type in the eyes of the Guze Queen.

From where she was standing, Chigusa watched in amusement, knowing that her eldest son was taking the young girl out to Kyoto.

"Now you two take good care of yourselves and be back by sunset, alright?"

"Yes, Mrs. Sakai." Leanan-sidhe replied.

"Of course, mom." Yutaro replied.

With that, the Mystes of the Mahiru Maigo opened the closet door before utilizing his Shadow-Walk abilities, allowing the Spiral Organ to enter first before following her in and closing the door behind him.

Somewhere in the dark corridor of a temple in the heart of Kyoto, Leanan-sidhe and Yutaro emerged from the shadows before heading outside.

"So where would you like to go first?" Yutaro asked the moment they stepped into the open breeze.

Leanan-sidhe grinned before taking a map out of her pocket and pointing to a location.

IIIIII::::::IIIIIII

Pheles had just arrived at the warehouse alongside Yukari and Khamsin before entering. The Beautiful Whim was going to check on the watermelon-based wine while Yukari handled a number of new orders that had come in through her e-mail. Of course, Khamsin was a bit speechless amid seeing rows and rows of liquor of all kinds. It looked a lot like a liquor warehouse belonging to the infamous Al Capone during the Prohibition Era in the United States or the olive storage house belonging to Vito Corleone from the movie, the Godfather.

The Ritually-Dressed Chaser had to admit that the Mystes of the Seiren Maigo along with her two surrogate brothers had quite interesting jobs that netted them millions of U.S. dollars and Euros in profit. Alcohol bootlegging had such interesting histories in granting so much income and sometimes death due to reckless chemistry. But of course, the best alcoholic beverages that the Sakai brothers and Yukari made were in high demand so he knew that no one had died from them or gotten sick with the exception of overdrinking.

"Maybe I should take part in this." Khamsin muttered with interest.

"You sure about that?" Behemoth asked.

"Why not? I could still carry out my duties as a Flame Haze Tuner. Yuji, Yukari, and Yutaro have mastered Shadow-Walking and are able to go to any place in the world." Khamsin replied. "That's how they are able to do business and sell alcoholic beverages."

Behemoth was amused, knowing that his Flame Haze was interested in Yukari Hirai but wasn't going to admit it.

From where she was, Yukari grinned amid hearing Khasmin talking to Behemoth. The Mystes knew that she had all the time in the world when it came to her secret crush.

From where she was, Pheles was stirring the watermelon broth to prevent a buildup of sediment within the liquid. The Guze Queen had removed all micro particulates from the tank, thus leaving a very clear liquid behind. After following the directions down to the last line, Pheles grinned amid seeing the watermelon-based wine and decided to wait for Yuji so that they could discuss on what custom spices they could add to make different variants.

Afterwards, the Guze Queen went outside to take a break and perhaps wait for Yuji to show up once he was finished with work for his school's festival. Things had certainly changed considerably since Pheles had left her life as a wandering vagabond after finding the Reiji Maigo's new Mystes. Of course, things had been turbulent at first since she had never met quite an uncouth teenager that managed to best her in combat. At first, Pheles had intended to just kill Yuji and take the Reiji Maigo. But somehow, the Guze Queen didn't have the drive to do so. Well, she did but knew that Yuji would expect it and his apparent victory on their initial encounter kept Pheles in check. She had watched Yuji from afar, seeing him drive Sydonay off during the Cradle Garden incident while feeling very jealous when he helped Margery withdraw from the fight. Then there was the chain of events in Las Vegas where he and the others took part in helping the Oceans take down a ruthless high-caliber casino owner while robbing his vaults. It was there that Yuji had kissed the Guze Queen for the first time to calm her turbulent temper tantrum while replenishing her power of existence. Of course, Yuji had also saved her from a very powerful Guze King recently, showing a genuine concern for her safety and life.

"Enjoying the fresh air from the ocean, Pheles?" a voice inquired.

Pheles smiled before seeing Yuji approach. "Finished with helping your school prepare for the festival?"

Yuji nodded. "Much of the work is done and the rest is being handled by other students."

"I sensed a Fuzetsu earlier and a Flame Haze in the city." Pheles remarked.

"About that, I think everyone should head to my house later. I'll explain everything to avoid having to repeat myself." Yuji replied. "Right now, the Flame Haze won't be able to detect any of us unless the person really knows where to look."

"Well, let's first finish up the watermelon wine and then worry about the Flame Haze later." Pheles replied before the Guze Queen had Yuji follow her back into the warehouse.

Minutes later, several large bottles filled with watermelon wine were sealed and kept in a shelf where Yuji cast the Unrestricted Method to accelerate the aging process such that the beverages would be about one hundred years old by tomorrow.

"Well, that looks to be about it." Yuji remarked.

Pheles nodded with contentment before she and Yuji headed outside where Yukari locked the warehouse up along with activating the security measures.

"Khamsin and I are heading back." Yukari spoke. "What about you two?"

"Kyoto. Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe are there so we'll see you two a little later." Yuji replied.

"Don't rush things. I don't think you two should make your nest yet." Yukari teased with a grin, causing both Yuji and Pheles to turn red.

"Go on!" the Guze Queen replied with annoyance, unable to find a comeback response.

"Wow, I didn't think it would be possible for a female Guze no Ou to have that time of the month like human women. No wonder you're cranky." Yuji remarked with a smug grin once Yukari and Khamsin were out of sight.

Pheles moved to grab Yuji by the ear only to find her wrist caught in his hand.

"Easy there!" Yuji spoke. "No need to get violent."

That apparent was the wrong thing to say as Pheles quickly tackled Yuji to the ground, pinning the Mystes underneath her before straddling his front and grabbing the collars of his shirt where she shook him wildly.

"Watch your mouth!" the Guze Queen snarled.

Despite the apparent headache and stars around his head, Yuji managed to grab Pheles by her wrists before wrestling with the Guze Queen where he flipped her onto her back.

"Easy, Pheles. Can't you take a joking remark?" Yuji asked as he stood up and offered his hand.

"With you, I can't even tell." Pheles huffed angrily but she took Yuji's hand before the Mystes helped her up.

"Perhaps I need a bit more work on that." Yuji remarked while still holding Pheles's hand.

"Are you going to kiss my hand while you're still holding it?" Pheles inquired before her cheeks turned red as Yuji kissed her hand.

"This is rather different so please let me know if there's any sensitive part of you that you want me to kiss should you want such a burning sensation following after." Yuji countered swiftly as he let go.

"You do know that I really want to strangle you for that, right?" Pheles asked in a dangerous tone.

"You can go as far you like so I'll let you know this: You'd look better in a soft blue or pink for your sleep ware." Yuji replied before walking.

'_I AM GOING TO KILL HIM!'_ thought Pheles, whose face turned a deep crimson. But at the same time, the Guze Queen was very amused. Oh, she may hurt Yuji alright but not too badly.

IIIII:::::IIIII

The trip around Kyoto ended with a quiet meal during the late afternoon. Yutaro entered a nearby Steak and Ale restaurant with his right arm around Leanan-sidhe's waist while his hand was inside the right pocket of her jeans. The Guze Queen leaned into the Mystes before a waiter showed the couple to a table.

"Despite the fact that the parent company filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, this one is running independently and very well." Leanan-sidhe remarked as she looked at the menu.

"Surprisingly, they get so many customers every day." Yutaro replied. "Thing is that they are selling diversity and running independent like this allows them to add the influence of the local cuisine into the cornerstone menu. The owner sees diversity as the key to success, making the competition fierce between the neighboring bistros here. Still, she is very much in the lead."

"That sure explains the continuing success." The Guze Queen replied before a waiter approached their table.

"Greetings, my name is Kaoru Futami and I'll be your server for today." The young man spoke. "What can I get for you to drink?"

"I'll take a club soda with an orange flavor." Leanan-sidhe replied.

"I'll take the same but with blueberry flavor." Yutaro replied.

After Kaoru wrote things down, he then asked. "Do you still need time or are you ready to order?"

Yutaro looked at Leanan-sidhe, who nodded that she was ready.

"Yes, we're both ready to order. I'll take the Hawaiian chicken with the rice pilaf." Yutaro replied.

"And I'll take the salmon fillet with the steak fries." Leanan-sidhe replied.

Kaoru jotted down their orders before speaking. "Alright then. I'll have your drinks out in a few minutes. Please help yourselves to the salad bar and I'll have your orders ready soon."

After leaving and returning to the table with their salads several minutes later, both the Mystes and the Guze Queen took their time in eating and engaging in conversation. This time, the subject was on Yuji and Pheles.

"Yuji had never had or developed a crass mouth until the day he and I got into a fight over a simple game of poker. Of course, he was inebriated and didn't right himself at the time." Yutaro was saying after telling a particular story.

Leanan-sidhe giggled at the thought of seeing a drunken Yuji lose his temper. "If that was his worst, that pales in comparison to Pheles losing her temper. But still, I do know that the Beautiful Whim does have her common sense and won't go flying off the handle unless things warrant it. For Yuji, however… well, let me just say that Johan had never seen Pheles with a dominatrix demeanor."

Yutaro shivered a bit. "Why am I starting to feel scared for Yuji?"

The Guze Queen laughed a bit. "Don't worry. She won't hurt him too badly. But still, if Margery continues to throw some moves on Yuji, then we might have to intervene."

"Yuji isn't really accepting of any of Margery's antics even though he somehow finds himself in the middle of them. Even if Pheles doesn't show it, I'm starting to think that something is really beginning between her and Yuji." Yutaro spoke.

"It's a trend for some girls to treat the ones they secretly love romantically in a cold manner." Leanan-sidhe replied before Kaoru came by with their drinks.

Yutaro nodded thanks before looking at Leanan-sidhe. "Well, Pheles is a woman and I have some doubts she has any tsundere potential. Still, the Beautiful Whim sometimes doesn't act like an adult and such. Then again, neither does my twin brother."

"The dire need to be a delinquent." Leanan-sidhe remarked, taking a sip from her drink before teasingly adding. "Say, I don't see you inheriting that trait for some reason."

Yutaro smiled and shrugged. "At one point, I thought I might have but I think I lost it some time ago, probably after learning the art of negotiation and political approaches."

The conversation continued until they finished their salads just as their orders came in. Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe ate peacefully while talking a bit about the locations that they visited and took pictures of together and individually.

After they finished, ice cream desserts followed along with the bill that Yutaro paid and even gave a generous tip to Kaoru before he and Leanan-sidhe left. The evening rolled in so it wasn't hard for them to look for a dark area to Shadow-Walk together back to the Sakai residence.

IIIII:::::IIIII

The evening rolled in and things were peaceful yet lively in the Sakai residence that night while the Unrestricted Methods surrounding the area kept the occupants from being detected.

Chigusa and Kantaro were enjoying a quiet dinner together.

Pheles, Leanan-sidhe, and Yukari were engaged in a pillow fight upstairs, both Guze Queens and the Mystes being scantily-clad while in the complete privacy of the room.

Khamsin, Yuji, and Yutaro were outside on the roof, talking about the arrival of the Slayer with the Flaming Hair and Red Eyes along with the potential maneuvers of the Balle Masque. Even though the conversation was serious, the night was peaceful enough for the Flame Haze and the two Mystes to be at ease.

But far away on the outskirts of Misaki, a lonely young girl with blue hair, pale skin, and white robes stood on the top of a hill that overlooked the city. Teal eyes were focused as her thoughts centered on the target that was in the city.

"Reiji Maigo."

IIIII::::IIIII

Read and review.


	15. Apprehension Sucks

Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana.

Since Season Three is running currently, I lost the muse for Eclipse, which is why it's no longer there. It's kind of boring to try and follow canon with fidelity as the light novels appears to have concluded so I got the gist of what happened in the end.

SNS Final Episode 11: Keisaku and Margery moments and the implications. Lucky kid scoring with an older yet hot blonde.

Anyways, on with the story.

IIII::::IIII

It was early morning that saw Kantaro and Chigusa leave the house to spend the day in the city. That left Yuji, Yutaro, Yukari, Pheles, Leanan-sidhe, and Khamsin with nothing much to do. Since there was nothing to do at the moment, they decided to find something to do.

Yutaro and Leanan-sidhe decided to go out on another date but this time, it would be a very casual one in the city. Neither the Mystes nor the Guze Queen had any problems of Chigusa or Kantaro spying on them whatsoever should that ever happen by chance. They'll just return the favor in their own little way.

Yukari had every intention of making Khamsin welcome and the Mystes began cooking breakfast for the Flame Haze, who was passing time in plotting on throwing a wrench in the plans of the Balle Masque. The table had notes and diagrams on paper right in front of him.

"Yuji, you said that you fought the Slayer with the Flaming Hair and Red Eyes the previous day." Pheles spoke while leaning against the wall.

"That's correct." Yuji answered while reading the newspaper. "The little girl would've skewered me and it looked like she mentioned about the Outlaw putting some sort of bounty on my head."

"Oh hell." Pheles groaned as the Guze Queen slapped her forehead. "Well, that might complicate things."

"Pfft.. I'm not worried." Yuji answered confidently. "Honestly, just how much trouble can some half-pint doll carrying a fiery sword cause?"

"If I were you, I wouldn't underestimate the Flame of the Heavens." Behemoth spoke from the Sabia around Khamsin's wrist. "Hmm… then again, if you managed to defeat his Flame Haze but spared her life, there's no doubt that you'll be encountering again on the battlefield."

"I figured as much but honestly, she'd be a lot better in fighting the Balle Masque instead of hunting me. I say the same for the Outlaw." Yuji replied before placing the newspaper aside. "Say, Pheles. You looked bored so how about you and I go check to see if that watermelon wine is ready to be bottled?"

The Guze Queen shrugged before answering. "Sure."

With that, Pheles and Yuji headed out, leaving Khamsin and Yukari alone in the house. The Mystes of the Seiren Maigo smiled at that fact before she finished making a simple breakfast of mixed fruits and Danish cream-cheese pastries.

"Breakfast, dear!" Yukari giggled as she sat next to Khamsin with a bowl of mixed fruit and a plate containing the sweets.

"So how's the planning going on?" Yukari asked as she offered him the fruit bowl.

"There's a lot of things that have to be accounted for but I think given time, all of it will straighten out." Khamsin replied as he accepted the fruit bowl. "Thanks."

"All in good time that is." Yukari remarked before munching on a pastry.

Thus, the day passed as peacefully as a midnight summer dream and would continue to be that way for a few more days with the exception of a few activities. Khamsin and Yukari would be moving about the city, setting things up as the Flame Haze would be using a set of spells that were different from his Tuning abilities while the latter would be helping him. Kantaro would be gathering information from the Outlaw like a good little spy while Chigusa, Leanan-sidhe, and Yutaro would be analyzing the data from within the safety of their home. Yuji, Pheles, Keisaku, and Margery would be planning defensive moves against the Balle Masque along with a possible set of offensive maneuvers.

So far, none of them had to contend with threats, making them feel uneasy on what the Balle Masque might have planned.

IIII:::::IIIII

Being called Shana wasn't something that the young Slayer with the Flaming Hair and Red Eyes could take but it seemed like a small benefit since her name could be easy to remember rather than the full length of it. From the day she got beaten, the Flame Haze decided that she would be known as Shana at least until she personally killed the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo.

Taking refuge in a small apartment that used to have been occupied by some Torches for the past few days, Shana had been thinking about her fight against the Mystes. How was it possible for someone like him to best her in combat? Either her own skills were getting rusty or maybe her foe is well-versed in the art of fighting. She would more likely admit the latter although Shana would just say he was lucky since she herself didn't know what he could do.

"That Mystes…" Shana growled, crushing what was left of the melon pan she was eating in her right hand that the inner cream filling oozed out between her fingers.

"You haven't been yourself lately." Alastor remarked. "Are you still thinking about the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo?"

"Mostly him." Shana admitted. "But there is also the two Guze no Ou and the other Flame Haze that have been living in the city. Another Flame Haze is also here and they seem to be congregating together on some days."

"That is very odd." Alastor replied. "Have you noticed that the Torches in this city are having their power of existence replenished?"

"That Mystes must be prolonging them using the Reiji Maigo." Shana spoke. "It looks like he has been sustaining the two Guze no Ou as well. What can you make of this?"

"I don't know on what might be going on." Alastor replied. "We'll need more information on the dynamics and perhaps some backup to investigate this matter further."

Shana nodded before going to the kitchen to wash her hands.

"Do we still follow up on the Outlaw's assigned hit?" Shana asked.

"Only after we finish gathering information, you can then dispose of him on your own terms." Alastor answered before a knock on the door drew their attention.

Shana walked over to answer before seeing a pink-haired woman in a maid's outfit along with a large backpack.

'_Ah, backup has arrived.'_ Shana thought as she greeted Wilhelmina Carmel.

IIII:::::IIIII

Keisaku had a very good idea on the current time but the school festival didn't seem like any concern. Thus, his delinquent nature dictated that he simply chill out and enjoy the day on his own terms, something that he certainly was going to do without any worry. That is, once he felt the need to wake up and get out of bed. Sniffing the air, he could smell alcohol but didn't bother to check before pulling the pillows to his face to enjoy their softness and their comforting warmth. It was only a full minute later that Keisaku realized that pillows aren't exactly warm at all before slowly pulling away to see that it was Margery that he had been hugging. His eyes widened as the realization sank in and Keisaku tried to figure out on this scenario. Here was Margery Daw in his bed, sleeping away another night of alcohol while wearing only her rather revealing lingerie that amplified her massively huge breasts that he had buried his face into earlier along with her curvaceous figure.

Before Keisaku could contemplate further, Margery began to moan in her sleep before reaching out to take hold of him by the shoulders and pulling him into her arms. Amid being pulled into Margery's embrace, Keisaku found his face buried into the busty blonde's cleavage before feeling her shift her weight to somewhat get on top on him where he could smell her rather wonderful bodily scent.

"Mmmm…. Kei…." Margery moaned sensually and Keisaku was completely ensnared by the way she spoke his name. Perhaps his plans for today were to be postponed until tomorrow for it was a rarity to Keisaku at being in a compromising position while experiencing a hot well-endowed blonde like Margery sleeping on top of him, even if the latter was drunk.

IIII::::IIIII

The day finally arrived as the 71st Seishou Festival kicked off with a big fireworks display. The atmosphere was as cherry as the weather itself, given that the sun was bright and the sky was blue and cloudless. One would think that Mother Nature herself was celebrating alongside the many students and teachers that had put a lot of effort into this festival.

With the students and teachers conducting and watching over the festivities, even Yuji and his siblings found themselves very much occupied in their roles. Yutaro and Yuji were managing the stands while Yukari was helping on the historical booth with Khamsin accompanying her.

Due to her green hair and beautiful appearance, Pheles found herself being coerced into cosplaying as C.C. from the Code Geass anime. It was an unusual arrangement as the Guze Queen wasn't exactly a student at the high school but thanks to Yukari and the Sakai brothers, the Beautiful Whim was whisked into the role for the cosplay parade. The only exception is that she wasn't qualified for the costume contest but that was a good thing in her opinion. After all, the wandering eyes of young men ogling her ample bosom and luscious figure while wearing the straitjacket jumpsuit that the fictitious green-haired immortal was well-known for donning could be considered something that Pheles planned to forget.

Pheles wasn't the only one to be conscripted into the parade as Leanan-sidhe had also been brought into the fold. But unlike the Beautiful Whim, the Spiral Organ was actually looking forward to such an opportunity, especially when Yukari suggested that Leanan-sidhe cosplay as Yuki Nagato from the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya anime. Since she had a teenage girl form, the Guze Queen found it a lot easier for herself along with the opportunity to poke fun at her fellow Guze Queen. It was a pity that she couldn't take part in the costume contest but then again, one doesn't get everything in life.

Slowly, but surely, the festival continued onwards without any interruption until sunset. By then, the three Mystes and a Flame Haze Tuner met up with the two Guze Queens, both of whom were bickering at each other over the Spiral Organ's platinum-blue trophy for honorable participation in the costume parade.

"You would've won if you didn't scowl half the time, Pheles." Yukari remarked.

"It's just not fair that I don't have a schoolgirl appearance to use." Pheles replied. "As for scowling, I hate men that ogle me like a piece of meat and Yuji wouldn't let me at least beat the hell out of them."

"Well, that's just the price for being too hot and sexy, Pheles." Leanan remarked with a sly grin before her eyes widened. "Oh hell, two Flame Hazes inbound."

Immediately, a Fuzetsu activated and it wasn't long before a young girl with flaming hair along with a pink-haired woman in a maid's outfit.

"Wilhelmina?" Pheles asked, seeing one of her old friends here and now.

"Pheles." Wilhelmina spoke, her expression being one of surprise. "This is unexpected, de arimasu. I didn't expect you to be here."

"Oh, it's Shana." Yuji remarked in a dull tone.

"What brings you here?" Yukari asked.

"The Outlaw has placed a hit on the Mystes." Wilhelmina replied, pointing at Yuji. "The Slayer with the Flaming Hair and Red Eyes has had some trouble in subduing the Mystes. With the Balle Masque knowing about the Hougu, it must be destroyed."

"No, you can't!" Pheles protested.

"Just because Outlaw placed the hit doesn't mean you have to follow up on it." Yukari spoke.

"There isn't any problem as of late so such action is unnecessary." Leanan-Sidhe added.

"Only if the Reiji Maigo is destroyed can a crisis can be averted." Alastor replied.

"Pheles, don't worry. No one is going to be offing me that easily and two Flame Hazes aren't exactly threatening if the maid is a complete joke like the pipsqueak next to her." Yuji remarked.

Shana growled as she drew her sword and Yuji followed suit, summoning the Rotational Edge. Behind him, Yutaro summoned the Rensen.

"Yutaro?" Yuji asked.

"If it is two enemies against you, that's not really fair." Yutaro replied. "I'll fight the maid while you take on the other."

"STOP!" Pheles shouted, catching everyone's attention. "There's no need to do this!"

"Necessary steps must be taken, de arimasu." Wilhelmina countered.

The Guze Queen then looked at the Flame Haze maid. "Wilhelmina, I don't want to fight you but I won't let you destroy the Mystes or Reiji Maigo whatsoever."

Before Wilhelmina can reply, the clanging of metal caught her attention as Shana attacked Yuji. The Mystes parried the blow before forcing the Flame Haze back and delivering a sweep kick that took her off her feet. But Shana didn't let up as she delivered a kick to Yuji in the family jewels, causing him to drop like a sack of potatoes. Yutaro and Khamsin winced at the sight while Yuji rolled away before taking to the air with Shana following after.

Wilhelmina was about to move to help Shana only to see a bladed sickle held close to her neck.

"One move and I'll take your head off, bitch." Yutaro warned. What he didn't expect was to sense the killing intent such that the Mystes quickly sprang back to avoid being skewered by the sharp ribbons.

"I don't have time to waste with this foolishness as I have a Mystes to destroy, de arimasu." Wilhelmina replied before seeing Pheles send a fierce gust of wind at her. The Flame Haze quickly used her ribbons to form a shield to deflect the attack.

"I don't want to do this, de arimasu." Wilhelmina spoke.

"Neither do I but I will protect him." Pheles replied with a determined voice.

"So be it, de arimasu." Wilhelmina said, sending ribbon spears at Pheles. The Guze Queen quickly engulfed herself in turbulent winds, which deflected the projectiles aside, before utilizing the Inbelna.

While two Flame Hazes battled the duo consisting of a Mystes and a Guze Queen, everyone watched the fight.

"Ten grand USD on Yuji beating the flat-chest." Yukari remarked.

"You're on! I'll wager twenty grand USD on the flat-chest." Yutaro replied.

"Shouldn't you be rooting for your twin?" Khamsin asked.

"It's not a problem." Yutaro replied. "I'm in the mood of rooting for the underdog in this fight."

"When the siblings make bets amongst each other, they don't really lose or win as a whole." Leanan-sidhe spoke. "Besides, it's just spare change to them."

"I'll help Yuji if he loses this time." Yutaro added.

The battle turned up a notch as Yuji and Shana were spamming the air with fireballs of various sizes such that both combatants took damage. Despite the respective training, neither of the two kids were professionals in showing the fluidity of their skills at this point. Even though blades were being swung and fireballs filled the sky, the fight between Yuji and Shana wasn't any more different than two children fighting in a sand box.

Contrary-wise, Wilhelmina and Pheles were showing class and technique and it wasn't because they were lusciously alluring beauties. The Flame Haze and the Guze Queen had their specialties and intimately knew each other's repertoire of moves. One could say that this fight was under choreography but instincts and intellects were being tested between these combat specialists, slowly being driven closer and closer to their limits. It was almost no different from a simple round of saber-fencing that was going on for a ridiculously large amount of time with spectacular moves and skills being used. For the Manipulator of Objects and the Beautiful Whim, both of them were slowly wearing each other down through skill and Unrestricted Method.

But amid the fight, another party decided to make itself known as Yutaro caught sight of a large floating island above. Even the combatants stopped their fights the moment they saw the island.

"Oh hell! It's the Seireiden!" Yutaro quipped while Pheles and Wilhelmina safely reached the ground.

Landing on the ground, Yuji placed the Rotational Edge away before conjuring a fireball while Shana readied her sword, both of them staring at the floating island. From the Seireiden, a golden wave of fire shot out before landing on the roof of another building, revealing a well-endowed red-haired woman with three eyes and wearing a dress.

"The Arbiter of Reverse Reasoning." Leanan-sidhe replied.

"This is rather interesting. The moment we appear and the battle between the Mystes and the Flame Hazes actually stops." Bel Peol remarked.

"So how about you leave us alone now and let the fights can resume?" Yukari suggested.

"As entertaining as it is, I simply can't do that without unanimous agreement, little Mystes." Bel Peol replied. "Surely, the Reiji Maigo isn't a prize that we can allow to get away."

"The Arbiter of Reverse Reasoning wouldn't be speaking like this unless…" Wilhelmina reasoned to herself.

"Diversion." Tiamat spoke and the Manipulator of Objects understood before sending a flurry of ribbons at Yuji.

The incoming presence along with Wilhelmina suddenly attacking triggered alarms as Yuji went on a state of full alert before sensing movement in the sky above him. Looking up, the Mystes quickly sprang backwards just as Sydonay landed, swatting Wilhelmina's ribbons aside.

"Thousand Changes." Tiamat spoke.

"You and your Flame Haze don't disappoint me whatsoever." The Guze King remarked before seeing the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo throw a fireball at him that he dodged.

Wilhelmina tried to engage only to be intercepted by Pheles, who summoned the Blutsauger and held it threateningly at the Flame Haze. "Don't even think about it."

"Kid, don't make this harder than it has be." Sydonay spoke as he closed in on Yuji.

"Oh? Too bad to disappoint you." The Mystes replied before hurling several more fireballs at him. The Guze King dodged the attacks before dashing forward and landing a cross-punch across the Mystes's face. Yuji stumbled backwards before nursing the struck area of his face with the back of his hand. As much as Sydonay wanted to gauge the Mystes's combat potential and go all out, he knew better than to defy Hecate's order in capturing the target alive despite the fact that his quarry was making it more difficult than the last time they fought. Summoning both the Rukt and the Rotational Edge before combining them, Yuji went on the offense against Sydonay, who reluctantly summoned the Shintetu Nyoi to defend himself. Knowing on how formidable the General of the Balle Masque was along with the countless number of Flame Haze and Tomogara that he had killed, Yuji didn't hold anything back as he allowed the instincts and skills within his mind and soul take over, lashing out at Sydonay while blocking and parrying his foe's attack in response.

Of all the battles and personal duels that Sydonay had ever experienced, this was the first time that a Mystes before him was pushing him to his limits. There was no doubt that his foe had drastically improved his grappling and weaponry skills, all of which were showing in this fight. Amid attacking and counterattacking, the Guze King slashed the Mystes' abdomen just as the latter spun around his right. The wound was deep but not fatal and Yuji cried out in pain, shocked at the critical error that he did not expect to commit. But in a last act of desperation, Yuji directed his moment just long enough to slice off Sydonay's left shoulder and arm completely from his body. The Guze King was completely taken aback, howling in pain. Despite being maimed, the attack wasn't fatal but it was the first time that Sydonay had ever taken such damage.

With Wilhelmina kept in check by Pheles, this left only Shana to take an open shot at Yuji before she brandished her sword and sent a wave of fire at him. But the attack was negated midway as a wall of earth blocked it entirely. Shana narrowed her eyes as she saw Khamsin directing the earth.

"You shall not harm a hair on his head." Khamsin spoke.

"So you want to die? Then your wish is my command!" Shana screamed as she moved to assault Khamsin before something ensnared her limbs and pinned her to the side of a building. Looking at the source, Shana traced it to Leanan-sidhe, who had conjured chains to bind and restrain her.

"It looks like your buddy is having trouble trying to keep up." Yukari remarked, summoning a large ball of white fire with a yellow corona. "So Bel Peol, since you're here, how about a welcoming gift?"

The Mystes of the Seiren Maigo immediately hurled the projectile at the Guze Queen, who merely caught it before absorbing the attack to boost her own power.

"Not bad for a Mystes." Bel Peol remarked. "But playtime is over."

The Seireiden began to resonate in a blue aura before releasing a blue wave of light that immobilized everyone, save for Pheles, Leanan-sidhe, Bel Peol and Sydonay. A moment later, another presence emerged, this one being a young girl with blue hair and wearing white clothing while carrying a staff.

"Hecate." Pheles glowered spitefully.

"What is going on?" Yuji muttered. Try as he might, he couldn't break the force that was keeping him immobilized despite being able to slowly move.

"Anything that is even remotely human will be affected by the Sigil of Injunction." Sydonay explained. "Now you have nowhere to go, Mystes. It's time you came with us."

"It's one reason why Flame Hazes can't exactly keep up with us." Bel Peol added before walking over to the immobilized Yukari and Yutaro, slapping them both on the side of their heads that the two Mystes were rendered unconscious. "Oh, these two will be fine. I do want to play a game of cat and mouse with them but that will have to wait. We came here for you, Mystes of the Reiji Maigo."

The Arbiter of Reverse Reasoning turned to see the Spiral Organ, having released the immobilized Shana, approach her with a sphere of lightning at her palm and both Guze Queens stood their respective grounds, waiting for the other to make the first move although it may just be written off as a little more than a staring contest.

Yuji narrowed his eyes. There was no way that the Balle Masque would get their hands on him.

"Try me but I am not going to be easy prey." Yuji snarled before his hair stood up amid activating the Fevered Nova and blue flames with a cyan corona erupted around the youth in a flaming aura.

Sydonay took a step back in surprise while Yuji, feeling the strange force no longer on him, immediately assaulted the Guze King with his bare fists as though he was taking part in a vicious street fight. The Thousand Changes, being a skilled bare-knuckles fighter in his own right, obliged in the exchange. But while Sydonay's skill and experience proved to be advantages that outmatched his opponent, Yuji coupled brute strength with his ferocity and zealous determination to easily hold his own. It wasn't long before Yuji ducked a cross-punch prior to sending a vicious uppercut to Sydonay that landed home, causing the Guze King to fly back.

"YUJI, CATCH!" A feminine voice called and Yuji caught sight of Pheles tossing him the Blutsauger. But it wasn't the only thing he saw as the Mystes noticed the Supreme Throne taking aim with the Trigon.

"PHELES! LOOK OUT!" Yuji yelled.

The Guze Queen seemed to have forgotten the danger before her instincts warned her of it. But by then, it was too late as the blue-haired Guze Queen utilized Aster and blasted the green-haired Guze Queen aside. Sydonay, having recovered, swooped in and knocked the Blutsauger out of Yuji's hands before punching and beating up the Mystes for a moment until he was incapacitated.

"Time to go now!" Sydonay spoke before turning into his chimera form and flew off into the sky with the incapacitated Yuji.

Leanan-sidhe managed to reach Pheles, who was critically wounded while extending her right hand to the Seireiden hovering in the sky.

"Yu…ji…" Pheles whimpered before her right arm fell to the ground and she lost consciousness.

IIIII:::::IIIII


End file.
